British kayaking sensation Bren Orton, 29, was found in a Swiss lake after a tragic kayaking accident. Orton, a celebrated figure in the kayaking community, had gone missing last month while navigating the Melezza River in the Ticino region of Switzerland.
The Ticino police confirmed that Orton’s body was discovered in Lake Maggiore around 1:00 pm local time. The alarm was raised by a sailor who spotted the body and promptly alerted emergency services.
Bren Orton had been unaccounted for since May 16, when he encountered difficulties on the Melezza River. Extensive search efforts were undertaken by authorities and friends, including a team of 15 kayakers who scoured the river in the Alps. Some even traveled from the United States to join the search.
@instagram BrenOrton
Pyranha, the manufacturer of Orton’s high-performance kayaks, reported that he became trapped in a recirculating feature and did not resurface during a group kayaking trip.
Orton was well-known in the kayaking world, boasting 57,000 followers on Instagram where he frequently shared his adventures. He had posted a video of himself kayaking in Italy just 48 hours before his disappearance and had recently uploaded a clip on YouTube of him navigating the Devil’s Slide waterfall in Val Sesia.
Bren Orton made global headlines in 2018 when he set the British record for the highest waterfall descent in a kayak at Big Banana Falls in Mexico. Dramatic footage showed him braving the waterfall.
Before his professional kayaking career, Orton worked various jobs including as a gravedigger, a call center employee, a laborer, and even participated in medical trials to fund his passion. His love for kayaking began at the age of nine during a school trip to the Lake District.
Reflecting on his journey, Orton once said, “In the lead up to getting paid to go kayaking, I think I’ve worked almost every job possible. I only did the grave digging for a few months, but the medical trials were the big one, even if they were a bit sketchy.”
