Body Discovered In Lake Padden Search

The body of a man was discovered Saturday in Lake Padden at 2:40 p.m by divers from the Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan County rescue teams.

The identity and cause of death will be made by the Whatcom County Medical Examiner; however, the body is presumed to be that of a missing capsized canoeist.

The canoe capsized shortly after 1:00 p.m Friday afternoon.

A cell phone call from a man at Lake Padden alerted police to two people calling for help after their canoe capsized. Three minutes after receiving the information, a Bellingham police officer arrived to find an overturned canoe and two men in the water.

As the officer arrived, he saw a friend in the parking lot that happened to be an off-duty Bellingham firefighter. The firefighter was at the lake on a recreational outing and had two stand-up paddle boats with him at the time.

Both the off-duty firefighter and the officer fashioned a quick rescue plan and paddled out to the struggling swimmers in an attempt to get them to shore.

One victim started swimming toward the shore and was assisted onto one of the paddle boats and then brought to shore by the police officer. That man was identified as 28-year-old Cole B. Smith.

Smith was taken to the hospital for treatment due to exposure.

As Smith was being helped ashore, the firefighter continued to the overturned canoe and the last known location of the second man in the water. Units from the Bellingham Fire Department and the South Whatcom Fire Authority also launched boats to assist in the rescue and recovery efforts. South Whatcom Fire Authority deployed underwater cameras to search for the missing man.

The second victim was not located.

The shoreline, trails and surrounding area were searched by officers and Whatcom County Search and Rescue. A Customs and Border Protection air and marine helicopter also assisted in searching the area.

The search was called off Friday night due to darkness. Efforts resumed Saturday morning.

The body pulled from the water is believed to be that of 28-year-old Clay J Weden.