A British man who went missing while kayaking in Switzerland has been found dead, Swiss police have confirmed.
Bren Orton, 29, went missing on 16 May. Authorities searched for the professional kayaker for two weeks before a body was discovered in Lake Maggiore, which straddles Switzerland and Italy. His body was discovered by a sailor who contacted emergency services.
A Swiss police spokesperson said on Thursday: “Shortly before 1pm in Locarno, the lifeless body of the man who disappeared on 16 May while kayaking in the Melezza was found in the waters of Lake Maggiore. The alarm was triggered by a sailor who found the body in the water and immediately notified the emergency services.”
MailOnline reported last week that a team of 15 kayakers travelled to Switzerland to search for Orton on a river in the Alps, including some who flew in from the US.
The former world kayaking champion James Reeves paid tribute to Orton, writing on Facebook: “Every few years we seem to lose a friend to our sport. Each loss is tough, and this one cuts deep.
“Bren Orton was an incredible human. From his teenage years, his warm smile and friendly nature shone as brightly as his kayaking skills … I was privileged to briefly mentor Bren in his early years, and then watched in awe as he rose to became one of the greatest whitewater kayakers ever.”
Orton was ambassador for the company Pyranha Kayaks. The watersports brand told the BBC: “It is with immense sadness that we announce that our friend and ambassador Bren Orton is no longer with us.”
In 2018, Orton set the British record for the highest waterfall descent after plunging 128ft (39 metres) down Big Banana Falls in Mexico.
The kayaker, who lived in Warrington, shared his travels and adventures on social media. Orton’s Instagram account has 57,000 followers and, 48 hours before he went missing, he posted a video on social media of his kayaking expedition in the Alpine region.
Speaking to the Sun in 2018, Orton said he fell in love with the sport at nine years old during a school trip to the Lake District. He said: “In the lead-up to getting paid to go kayaking, I think I’ve worked almost every job possible. I worked in a call centre, as a labourer on a building site, in a gym, at the national Watersports Centre and as a gravedigger.
“I did some medical trials to earn money as well. I only did the grave digging for a few months but the medical trials were the big one, even if they were a bit sketchy.”