Kayaker found dead early Monday on Lake Annie in Waverly

A 40-year-old kayaker from Lake Wales was found dead on Lake Annie in Waverly early Monday morning after friends tried to search for him and reported him missing.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that Shane Park, 40, of Lake Wales went out on the lake about 3:30 p.m. Sunday. About 5 p.m., friends took to the water to look for him, the Sheriff's Office said, and eventually found his overturned kayak. They reported him missing at 3:30 a.m. Monday.

Boats from the Sheriff's Office and Polk County Fire Rescue were launched, and they found Park's body floating in the lake. He was taken to the Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.

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Lake Annie is a 407-acre lake south of Dundee and north of Lake Wales, nestled between State Road 17 and U.S. 27.

In November 2022, a 9-year-old boy from Port St. Lucie died after falling off the front of a pontoon boat on the lake. It took searchers three days to find him with the use of an underwater drone.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Kayaker found dead early Monday on Lake Annie in Waverly