Kayaker missing near Sitka; boat found overturned, adrift

SITKA, Alaska (AP) — A search has been called off for a man missing on a kayak trip outside Sitka, the U.S. Coast Guard announced.

Kale Pastel, 36, left on an early morning kayaking trip to Birdsnest Bay. He did not return and he was reported missing, the Coast Guard said.

A witness spotted Pastel's kayak on Sunday morning overturned and adrift in Eastern Channel. The witness towed the kayak to Cannon Island.

The Coast Guard and Sitka Mountain Rescue launched a search. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew at 1:15 p.m. launched from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka and spotted the kayak on Cannon Isla...