For The Daily Journal
The body of a Columbus man was found in the Driftwood River near Edinburgh on Sunday, a day after he went missing when his canoe capsized.
Siddharth S. Panicker, 27, an engineer for Faurecia in Columbus, had been canoeing with about 15 friends Saturday afternoon when his watercraft capsized, said Cpl. Jet Quillen, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Panicker’s body was found just before 11 a.m. Sunday near where his canoe capsized, Quillen said.
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The area of the river where Panicker was found was about 16 feet deep, in a river bend about a mile north of Heflen Park near the Blues Canoe Livery of Edinburgh, which had provided the party’s canoes. Although the canoe rental business provides life jackets, Panicker was not wearing one when his canoe capsized, witnesses told first responders.
“This is a popular place for boating and kayaking and camping,” Quillen said of the Heflen Park area. “But you have to keep in mind it can be dangerous around water. You have got to remember the danger is always there. Use life jackets; they save lives.”
Friends and Panicker’s fiance had gone to the park Sunday morning where searchers were launching boats, keeping vigil in the hopes for Panicker’s safe return. Panicker’s family in India was notified shortly after his body was found.
Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting ruled Panicker’s death as an accidental drowning.
He was initially reported missing at 4:26 p.m. Saturday when his canoe capsized, Quillen said.
Witnesses said Panicker initially went underwater, resurfaced briefly and then disappeared. The friends canoeing with Panicker attempted to rescue him, but said he disappeared and the water depth they were in was well over their heads.
The canoe remained submerged under logs in the river bend, and that is where the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Bartholomew County water rescue team concentrated their efforts to find Panicker on Sunday, Quillen said.
It is a common strategy to focus where the individual was last seen as past experience has shown that they are usually found near that location, he said.
Three boats were launched from the Heflen Park boat ramp on Sunday morning, including two DNR boats with sonar capabilities and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department air boat.
Quillen said the river was a little high on Saturday when the canoes were out, but not at a level that would be considered dangerous. The river was down about a foot Sunday morning, although the current remained strong throughout the Saturday and Sunday searches, he said.
In addition to the water being 14 to 16 feet deep near where the canoe overturned, the channel there is filled with dumped concrete pieces and rebar, making it too dangerous to send divers in to search for Panicker, water rescue team members said.
Indiana Conservation Officers were assisted in the search and recovery by Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, Columbus Fire Department, Franklin Fire Department, German Township Fire Department, Bargersville Fire Department, Indianapolis Fire Department and Indiana State Police.
Panicker’s occupation is listed as a Faurecia tooling engineer in Columbus, working in manufacturing, supply chain and operational processes for about a year, according to background information online.