Lake Wales Resident Drowns on Lake Annie During Kayaking Trip

A 40-year-old Lake Wales man is dead after a kayaking trip on a local lake.

A death investigation is underway following the recovery of the body of an adult male from Lake Annie, a 407-acre lake in the Waverly area of Lake Wales early this morning.

Courtesy PCSO

The 407-acre Lake Annie lies largely between the city limits of Dundee and Lake Wales.

Shane Park of Magnolia Street in Lake Wales had set out on the lake about 3:30 p.m. Sunday in a kayak. Weather at the time was fine, but thunderstorms began moving into the area a short time later. When he failed to return to shore his friends began searching the lake in a canoe to look for him and discovered his empty kayak capsized in the water.

After he was reported missing at about 5 p.m., Polk County Fire Rescue and the Polk County Sheriff's Office Marine Unit began a search of the broad lake.

Courtesy PCSO

The grim work of searching for a missing kayaker was undertaken by Polk Fire Rescue and the Marine Unit of the Polk Sheriff's Office after a man failed to return from a kayaking trip on Lake Annie.

Park's body was recovered after being found floating on the lake early Monday morning and has been transported to the Medical Examiners Office. A further investigation of the incident is underway, according to the Sheriff's Office.