Body of Missing Kayaker Found Near Horseshoe Island

The body of a kayaker reported missing Saturday night was found Wednesday morning about 100 yards from Horseshoe Island off of Peninsula State Park.

The kayaker was identified as 20-year-old Joseph D. Quagliano of Salem, Wisconsin.

Quagliano was reported missing Saturday night. He was believed to have been kayaking from Nicolet Bay to Horseshoe Island and expected to return at 4 pm. His vehicle was located at a nearby boat ramp with his cellphone and a life jacket inside.

A search began at 9 pm Saturday, Aug. 19, when Quagliano’s family called the Door County Sheriff’s Department, who in turn notified the Coast Guard shortly after 10 pm after a crew from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources notified them that they had found Quagliano’s kayak on Horseshoe Island.

“There was no evidence from the kayak that leads us to believe anything catastrophic occurred,” McCarty said.

The United States Coast Guard, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Door County Sheriff’s Department, Ephraim Fire Department, Gibraltar Fire Department and the Sturgeon Bay Dive Team have all participated in the search.

Watchstanders in the Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan command center launched a rescue crew from Station Washington Island and another boat from Sturgeon Bay, as well as an aircrew aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Traverse City at about 10:15 pm Saturday.

The search continued through the night and into the morning of Aug. 20 in the area of Green Bay between Nicolet Bay, Horseshoe Island, and up to Sister Bay. Searchers used search lights and illumination flares overnight.

Boatswain’s Mate Ryan Frazier of the United States Coast Guard Station in Sturgeon Bay said at least 14 Coast Guard personnel were involved in the effort.

“It was a pretty extensive search,” Frazier said.

A total of three helicopters aided in the search, he said, using infrared cameras overnight to search for a heat signature.

The search continued with local agencies all day Monday, Tuesday, and until the body was found Wednesday morning.