San Diego authorities have identified the Mission Bay drowning victim as a teen who was an exchange student from Africa.
Abdul Razak Shanun, 17, who hailed from from Ghana, was first reported missing around 3 p.m. Saturday in the Sail Bay area of western Mission Bay, near the Mission Bay Sportcenter at Santa Clara Point.
According to the website for the African Youth Basketball Organization, Shanun was a basketball player who attended Balboa City School, an independent college-preparatory school in Centre City, near Balboa Park.
He had received interest from San Diego State and the University of Massachusetts, said other media reports.
The search for Shanun’s body was suspended Saturday night about 8 p.m. and resumed Sunday at first light.
Shanun’s body was discovered by lifeguard and searchers at 9:35 a.m. in 25 feet of water at an undisclosed location in the bay, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Lee Swanson said.
Shanun was in a rented kayak when it capsized and he became separated from his personal flotation device.
A tweet from the San Diego lifeguard account said it was believed he had not been wearing a life jacket.
SDFRD dispatched emergency personnel including rescue divers and a helicopter to search for Shanun Saturday, but the search was unsuccessful in Mission Bay under near-blackout visibility conditions, Swanson said.
The search continued Sunday with the use of vessels from the Parks Ranger Lake Team and San Diego Police Department, both equipped with side-scanning sonar, Swanson said. Five lifeguard divers were also deployed.
A rescuer told an a Fire-Rescue department dispatcher Shanun had rented the kayak from the Catamaran Resort Hotel on Mission Boulevard.
– City News Service
