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Deputies Identify Man Who Drowned After Stolen Kayak Flipped

POSTED: 7:17 am EDT May 16, 2008
UPDATED: 1:19 pm EDT May 16, 2008

Orange County deputies used sonar equipment Friday to search an east Orange County lake for a missing boater. Three people were dumped into Lake Waunatta overnight when a kayak they were on capsized.

Two of the boaters were rescued from the lake near Thornlea Road near University Boulevard (see map). Early Friday afternoon, investigators said they had recovered the other boater's body.

Deputies said 24-year-old Robert Geib, his 17-year-old brother Edward and 22-year-old Christopher Mayo stole a kayak from a neighbor. The neighbor's dog woke him up around 2:15am.

"I saw two people in the water. One was screaming for help, the other was yelling, 'I can't swim. I can't swim,'" said eyewitness Reg Shrigley.

Shrigley's neighbor heard the same cries for help. He jumped in his boat and pulled the brothers to safety, but he couldn't locate the third individual.

"Panicked. Was pulling the swimmer under. He had to break loose to keep from drowning himself, at which point the victim went under," said Cpl. Richard Jones, Orange County Sheriff's Office Marine Unit.

Investigators said the trio had been drinking. The kayak they stole is designed for two people, not three. It capsized a few minutes into their journey, about 400 feet from shore.

"It's a good thing that he actually got out here in time to save the two we have," said Sgt. Reginald Hosey, Orange County Sheriff's Office.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office said they found the body of 22-year-old Christopher Mayo early Friday afternoon following an extensive search.


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