British kayaker’s body found after two-week search

The body of a British kayaker has been found two weeks after he went missing in Switzerland, his sponsors have confirmed.

Bren Orton, who drew more than 55,000 followers on social media, became trapped while kayaking with a group on the Melezza River on 16 May, according to the firm Pyranha Kayaks, for which Mr Orton was an ambassador.

His body was recovered in Lake Maggiore, which crosses the Swiss-Italian border, on Thursday.

In a statement to the BBC, a firm spokesman said: “It is with immense sadness that we announce that our friend and ambassador Bren Orton is no longer with us.”

Following his disappearance on 16 May, the firm said he had become “trapped in a recirculating feature and did not resurface”.

Local authorities mounted searches before his body was found this week.

A spokesman for Runcorn firm Pyranha Kayaks said: “The outpouring of love and support from the paddling community since Bren went missing has been extraordinary.

“This support has been a profound source of strength for all of us, especially for his family and close friends. Sending our love to our paddling family at this time.”

The Warrington-based kayaker set the British record for the highest waterfall descent in 2019, after plunging 128ft down Big Banana Falls in Mexico.

He travelled across the world filming his adventures for social media, saying he loved the sport because it was about “problem solving and the mastering of my fears”.

In a 2020 interview, he described kayaking as a “sport that challenges you on so many levels, provides access to some of the nicest people on the planet and takes a kid from Warrington to Africa in pursuit of the best rapids”.