Divers recovered the body of St. John resident David Sullivan, 43, in Round Bay, located at St. John’s East End, at around 5:15 p.m. Saturday, St. John Administrator Leona Smith said.
Sullivan disappeared Friday morning while on a kayaking trip. He left around 10 a.m. Friday from Hansen Bay, located within Round Bay.
The cause of his death was not yet known.
“He died doing what he loved best. He loved the sea,” Smith said.
Smith said he was an experienced kayaker. Neighbor Terry McKoy added that he seldom left the Round Bay area with his kayak.
“I knew him for 21 years and he was always on the water,” McKoy said.
Smith added that he was a soft-spoken man who kept to himself.
V.I. National Park Superintendent Mark Hardgrove said that Sullivan’s body was located in about 25 to 30 feet of water. His kayak washed up on the beach at Hansen Bay earlier in the day.
U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad said in a press release that a family friend notified the Coast Guard at 9 a.m. Saturday of Sullivan’s disappearance.
According to Castrodad, Sullivan was reportedly a strong swimmer but was not wearing a lifejacket when he disappeared.
The Coast Guard deployed the Coast Guard Cutter Cushing from San Juan, a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Borinquen, Aguadilla, and a Coast Guard Auxiliary aircraft out of Saint Thomas.
A boat from V.I. National Park aided in the search. Hardgrove said the park sent two divers to the scene.
