Father and son presumed dead while kayaking on spring break trip, family says

Jennifer Thompson misses “her boys.”

Five times due to the fact her spouse and son disappeared while kayaking on Beaver Lake in Arkansas, Thompson said that legislation enforcement is now operating to get well their bodies. She thinks they very likely drowned following one fell into the cold lake from a kayak and the other tried using to rescue him. Lt. Shannon Jenkins of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office verified the two are presumed useless.

“It really is what saved me from the starting of this is that they died collectively, they have been together,” Thompson mentioned.

Her son, Charlie Morris, 20, was a sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University exactly where he played violin and guitar, competed as a a few-year runner, led the orchestra, and aspired to be a lawyer. Her husband, Chuck Morris, 46, was a father to Charlie and a 12-12 months-outdated daughter, as well as an acclaimed percussionist with the digital-jam band Lotus.

According to Chuck’s bandmate Jesse Miller, Lotus had just finished a 25-city tour. Charlie was dwelling for family vacation, and the relatives made the decision to journey from Kansas Metropolis to Beaver Lake, Arkansas to unwind.

“We considered it would be a excellent notion for Chuck and Charlie to be capable to get on the kayaks before a storm strike,” Thompson said. When she and her daughter went into city, “the boys” went out on the kayaks on March 16, despite the chilly water and a few-foot icebreakers.

When Thompson returned, Chuck and Charlie were being nowhere to be found, which was not at first a trigger for alarm.

“We acquired house, and they weren’t back but. My spouse remaining the adventurer that he is, we are like, ‘oh, they have to be having a fantastic time,'” she claimed.

According to Thompson, “crisis method” established in as time handed. They drove close to the lake twice, scanning the drinking water for the father-and-son kayakers. After failing to find them, Thompson termed the law enforcement later that afternoon.

Rescue groups searched the location for days utilizing helicopters, drones, sonar, and dogs. Neighbors also used their boats to aid in the rescue.

On the initially night time, they recovered a kayak, and the next day one more, Thompson explained. They later on uncovered Chuck’s hat and his coat, but other than these traces, the two males disappeared.

“I guess the initially few of days I truly just required to hold out some hope,” Miller recalled. “You know, as that dwindled, and the fact grew to become a lot more true, I guess the grief started out to set in a minor little bit far more.”

Jenkins stated the restoration hard work would scale again tomorrow. It really is unclear when or if the bodies will be recovered, in accordance to Thompson.

She mentioned the existing concept is that one particular of the males fell into the water from his kayak. Weighed down by soaked clothes, he struggled to swim, prompting the other to go away his kayak to endeavor a rescue. In the chilly h2o of Beaver Lake, the two most likely drowned, Thompson mentioned. She included that the concept was corroborated when cadaver canine hit close to the site of the theorized web-site of the drowning.

Hunting back, Thompson reported the cold and choppy problems on the lake had been “for all intents and functions a excellent storm for drowning.”

As the rescue continued, close friends of the loved ones and fans of Lotus commenced an outpouring of help on the internet. A GoFundMe to assistance the family’s costs elevated $87,347 as of Tuesday night. With the grief arrived memories of the father and son – musical dynamos who Thompson explained as “beautifully mild, loving adult men.”

“Chuck was exciting and imaginative and funny, and Charlie was pensive and significant and very considerably considered in the accountability of men and women to be superior,” she mentioned.

Miller, who spoke to ABC on behalf of the band Lotus, reported that whilst the group is grieving their late band member, they try to remember Chuck as a terrific musician, father, and mate.

“When he was on phase, and he was actively playing that tunes, he embodied just elegance and spirit and adore,” Thompson extra.