Missing kayaker treaded water for 12 hours before being rescued

***Watch an interview with the fishermen who rescued the kayaker in the video above.***

CLEVELAND (WJW) – A kayaker pulled from Lake Erie told authorities he treaded water for 12 hours and held onto a bucket before he was rescued Wednesday morning.

According to a report from Cleveland Metroparks Police, who assisted in the investigation, James Manning left home Tuesday evening to go kayaking alone. He planned to launch from Merwin’s Wharf.

Manning’s girlfriend, Lindsay Longforth, called police when communication with Manning stopped just after 6:30 p.m. She told police she’d texted him to ask how kayaking was going, a message Manning read but did not respond to. She later texted again asking where he was but the message was not delivered, according to the report. That signals that the phone was either turned off or ran out of battery.

After calling Manning’s phone several times and getting no answer, Longforth and a friend drove to Merwin’s Wharf where they located Manning’s truck with the keys still inside.

Additional officers then arrived at the scene and searched the area for Manning. The Coast Guard, Metroparks Marine Unit, Cuyahoga Falls Police Department and Parma Police Department Drone all assisted in the search for much of Tuesday night.

In another attempt to locate Manning, officers requested a “ping” on his phone, the report said. It was pinged around 7:19 p.m. about 5 miles North/ Northwest from 2191 W. 114 St.,
however because his phone was shut off, officers could not get a more current location.

After some time, officers cleared the scene, but the Coast Guard and Cleveland Metroparks Police Department Marine Unit continued their searches until 3:00 Wednesday morning.

Longforth told police it was likely that Manning was not wearing a life jacket, the report said.

Police entered a missing person report and called all major hospitals within the city of Cleveland to see if Manning had shown up at any locations, but there was no record of him.

Wednesday morning police were called to the Edgewater Marina Boat Ramps in the Cleveland Metroparks Lakefront reservation after getting reports of a man pulled from the water by fishermen. The man was identified as James Manning.

According to police reports, Manning was “responsive and seemed to be aware of what all was going on around him.” Officers noted his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, and his hands were swollen and wrinkled.

Manning told police he’d attempted to paddle his kayak out towards the Crib Tuesday evening, and as he was getting closer he realized his kayak was taking on a lot of water. The vessel eventually sank.

Manning said after that he was forced to continually tread water. He tried to swim to shore several times, the reports say, but he was unable to because of the currents.

At one point, Manning told police, a helicopter flew right over him, but he couldn’t get their attention. However, he was able to flag down a boat of fisherman who’d come near him, and they pulled him from the water and brought him into the marina harbor.

Manning refused to be taken to the hospital and was released.

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