Alaska man accidentally filmed his own drowning with a helmet-mounted GoPro, but his body is still missing
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- An Alaska man inadvertently recorded himself drowning in a glacial lake, police said.
- Police recovered a GoPro camera attached to a helmet that showed the moment his kayak overturned.
- But authorities are yet to locate his body. A search is still underway.
An Alaska man unwittingly documented his own drowning in a glacial lake using a GoPro camera that was mounted on his helmet, but authorities who recovered the recording device are still looking for his body, officials said Tuesday.
The circumstances of 43-year-old Paul Rodriguez Jr.'s death came to light on Monday, when somebody turned in a helmet with a GoPro attached to it to Alaska State Troopers. The helmet had been found on the lakeshore of Mendenhall Lake, according to reports.
Upon investigation, the helmet was identified as belonging to Rodriguez, who is believed to have gone missing on July 11, the Associated Press reported.
Police said Rodriguez's roommate last reported seeing him on July 1o, per the news agency.
On July 11, an unattended kayak resembling one Rodriguez had shown in a social media post earlier that day was discovered floating on the lake by Juneau police, according to AP.
A search commenced, with authorities checking the lake and shoreline, and using a helicopter for an aerial search, but police are yet to locate the body, according to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch.
The GoPro footage, however, provided a chilling insight into Rodriguez's fate. The July 11 footage captured the kayak overturning, causing him to drow in glacial water, the dispatch said.
"The recording continued showing that the kayak overturned due to a strong current coming from the glacier," Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Tim DeSpain said by email, per AP.
Rodriguez was not wearing a buoyancy aid or protective clothing for glacial water sports, the Alaskan police said in the dispatch.
It added that it will continue to search Mendenhall Lake for his body.
Rodriguez's son, Jaden Rodriguez, told AP that his father enjoyed being outdoors, was a talented photographer, and was a "good person."