Authorities, family members continue search for missing man
- Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Four days after he was last seen kayaking on Clear Lake, a missing man remains the focus of an intense search around the Clearlake Oaks area, with items that are believed to have belonged to him being found near where he was last seen.
A kayak, its paddle, a shoe and a life jacket are all clues that have been discovered by the Lake County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol, along with family and friends of 28-year-old Dylan Rockne Flanagan, who have been looking for him since he failed to return from a kayaking trip on Sunday evening.
Flanagan, a Southern California native who has been working in the San Francisco area, had been staying at a vacation rental near East State Highway 20 and Olson Road in Clearlake Oaks, said Lt. Rich Ward of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Ward said Flanagan was vacationing in Lake County to celebrate his 28th birthday and a promotion at his job.
For the past two years, Flanagan had been working at the San Francisco-based AppsFlyer, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Late Sunday afternoon, Flanagan headed out on Clear Lake, planning to paddle to Rattlesnake Island in what Ward described as a small but standard 8- to 9-foot kayak.
Flanagan’s girlfriend told the sheriff’s office that Flanagan was last seen at approximately 4:45 p.m. Sunday while out in the kayak. Ward said the information they’ve received so far is that he was not wearing a life jacket.
Ward said Flanagan’s girlfriend had called him on his cellphone shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday, at which point he said he was on the kayak and was OK. But her attempts to contact him afterward resulted in the calls going to voicemail.
Winds were high that day, and when the sheriff’s Marine Patrol began searching that night, they ran into similarly rough conditions, Ward said.
On Sunday night, Marine Patrol searched the immediate area of where Flanagan was last seen, and did a visual search of the shoreline along Highway 20 and the Rattlesnake Island area, Ward said.
But Ward said the rough weather and high winds led to Marine Patrol stopping their search efforts until Monday morning after a Marine Patrol boat began taking in water after 11 p.m.
Just after 9:30 a.m. Monday, Marine Patrol units located a dark green kayak that they believed to be the one Flanagan had used in the area of Widgeon Bay. Ward said there was no evidence of the boat being damaged.
Flanagan’s friends, family and co-workers have been important partners in the search. Ward said they’ve been scouring the area, and his employer hired a private helicopter to help in the search effort.
Ward said seven or eight members of that group went over to Rattlesnake Island and searched it for Flanagan, but didn’t find him.
They did, however, find a kayak paddle they believe he used on the island’s north end on Tuesday, Ward said.
Other clues Ward said they’ve found include a flip-flop, a water bottle and a hydration backpack.
Although initial statements indicated Flanagan wasn’t wearing a life jacket, Ward said a life jacket was found at the entrance of the Keys. He added that such equipment flies out of boats every day on the lake, so its discovery may not be significant in the search for Flanagan.
Because they don’t know where Flanagan might have gone into the water, Ward said the Marine Patrol is running a grid search with three boats from Widgeon Bay to Clark’s Island. Side scan sonar also has been used across two-thirds of that area but so far it hasn’t located him.
Ward said it’s like looking for a needle in a stack of needles.
At the same time, Ward said searchers have continued to encounter challenging conditions, from Clear Lake’s low water levels — the lowest in four decades — to shifting winds.
Based on his knowledge of the lake, Ward surmised that Flanagan’s kayak began taking on water in the rough conditions and he went into the lake between Widgeon Bay and Rattlesnake Island.
That night there were whitecaps due to the winds which could have capsized the boat. At the same time, Ward said Flanagan could have been disoriented as to his location.
“You could be an Olympic swimmer and not make it to shore if you knew where shore was,” said Ward, adding that many people don’t realize the magnitude of the waves on Clear Lake.
The concern now is that the search has moved from rescue to recovery.
Ward said he spoke with Flanagan’s father, who is remaining hopeful, but also realizing that the search is shifting to a recovery operation.
Nonetheless, Ward said, the family indicated its members intend to continue searching for Flanagan for the next few days and will remain in Lake County through the week.
Ward said the sheriff’s office is maintaining its full staff of marine units to continue searching as long as the weather permits.
Flanagan, who is 6 feet, 1 inch tall, was last seen wearing a navy-colored Hawaiian shirt, straw hat and pink shorts.
The sheriff’s office asks that anyone with information about Flanagan contact the Central Dispatch nonemergency line at 707-263-2690.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.