Rick Hoeninghausen, Director of Marketing and Sales at Yellowstone Park Lodges, joined FOX Weather to talk all things Yellowstone.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming – The body of a 41-year-old man from Denver was discovered floating in a lake in Yellowstone National Park on Monday.
Yellowstone National Park said on Thursday people in a boat on Yellowstone Lake discovered the man’s body floating in the water near Rock Point on the northwest shore of the lake near Bridge Bay.
National Park Service rangers responded and recovered the body, along with a capsized kayak and personal belongings.
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The man was identified as Brandon Rhea, 41.
Yellowstone Lake at sunrise
(NPS / Jacob W. Frank / FOX Weather)
Yellowstone Lake is the largest high elevation lake in North America, and it freezes over every winter, taking several months to thaw out— typically in May or early June.
The national park said even when the lake thaws out, temperatures are cold, remaining at an average temperature of 41 degrees year round.
NATIONAL PARK RANGER DIES WHILE PATROLLING AMERICA’S TALLEST PEAK
Survival time is estimated to be only 20 to 30 minutes in water of this temperature, Yellowstone National Park said, and swimming isn’t recommended.
The national park also warned that winds can cause large waves to form along the lakes, which can be dangerous to boaters and kayakers.
Waves in Sedge Bay at Steamboat Point in Yellowstone Lake; November 2014
(NPS/Jim Peaco / FOX Weather)
Those wishing to kayak in Yellowstone must receive a permit in order to kayak within the national park.
Boating is allowed from Memorial Day through Halloween.
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Yellowstone National Park warns of the cold water temperatures within lakes in the park, and said sudden immersion in cold waters can cause rapid, uncontrolled breathing, cardiac arrest and other physical body conditions, which can result in drowning.
Sun shines through clouds on Yellowstone Lake
(NPS/ Neal Herbert / FOX Weather)
The park warns people to wear a personal floatation device like a life jacket, to help survive in sudden immersion instances.
The national park didn’t release any additional information about how long the kayaker had been missing or the circumstances surrounding his death.
