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Search continues for capsized kayaker: How dangerous is the Hudson River?

Tali Fruchtmann, daughter of Grammy Award-winning singer Annie Lennox, was rescued Saturday following a kayaking accident on the Hudson River. The search for her boyfriend, Ian Jones, continues. 

The search continues for a man who disappeared after the kayak that he and his girlfriend were in overturned in the waters of New York’s Hudson River Saturday morning, authorities say.

Efforts to find Ian Jones resumed Sunday after being suspended late Saturday night, Dutchess County Sheriff's Capt. John Watterson said. Mr. Jones and his girlfriend, Tali Fruchtmann, were paddling near Mills Mansion, a historic home in the hamlet of Staatsburg, N.Y., when the kayak capsized and the two fell into the water. Neither was wearing a life jacket, Captain Watterson said.

Ms. Fruchtmann, daughter of Scottish singer and songwriter Annie Lennox, was picked up by a passing vessel after being separated from Jones in the water, police said. She was not injured nor was she taken to a hospital, according to Watterson.

Accidents are not entirely uncommon on the Hudson River. Last year, four people were injured in a total of eight boating accidents on the river, according to a report by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. No fatalities were reported during that year.

Recreational boating is a $2 billion industry in New York State, with about 450,000 registered powerboats and another 300,000 non-powered watercraft statewide, according to the report. As of 2013, the state accounted for about 3.2 percent of all reported boating deaths in the country. The leading causes of death are drowning and cold water immersion.

In the last decade, 24 percent of all fatal boating accidents in New York also involved alcohol and drug use, according to the report. In 2014 alone, drugs and alcohol contributed to 11 of 27 fatalities.

In this case, both alcohol and the Hudson’s strong currents may have been contributing factors to the accident, Watterson said.

“We believe that alcohol may have played a role,” he told the Poughkeepsie Journal Saturday.

At the same time, "The current in the Hudson River is very strong and we believe the current played a role in the kayak capsizing, and once the two got in the water it was difficult for them to stay together,” Watterson told People magazine.

The investigation continued throughout the weekend. “We've had many teams out there,” Watterson said, according to ABC News. “Our marine patrol, our dive teams, we've had helicopters in the air."

Police do not suspect foul play.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

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