Missing Beaufort Co. Kayaker launched water rescue; found hours later

A water search was activated by authorities Sunday when the wife of a St. Helena man reported him missing, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office report.

The wife told deputies her husband went kayaking at about 7 p.m. Sunday in a waterway behind their residence on Pineland Avenue. By about 9 p.m. the man had not returned home.

She told deputies the couple had recently moved to the area and didn't know the waterways well. She was concerned her husband was lost

At about 11 p.m. dispatch received a call from the husband. He told authorities he flipped his kayak and the current swept it away.

He walked through mud and swam for a couple hours before locating a residence. He used the phone at the residence — on Tom Fripp Road — to make the call.

The man was not injured and returned to his family.

All units searching the water were notified, the report states.