Body of missing Kerry man found in Ecuador

The body of missing Irish kayaker David Higgins has been found following a search in central Ecuador.

Mr Higgins (26) who is from Tralee, Co Kerry, went missing on Saturday afternoon after his kayak became caught in a strong current.

He was kayaking on the Abanico river with four other men, including Alex McGourty (19) from Sligo, whose body was found shortly after the incident.

US citizen Jeremiath Stewart was rescued on Saturday while Ecuadorian kayaker Joaquin Meneses was discovered alive and well two days later on Monday. Mr Meneses is in a stable condition in hospital.

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Mr Stewart later told rescue workers the five kayakers were making their way down the Abanico river when they hit a strong current and lost control of their crafts. “When I made it to shore I realised my friends had disappeared,” said Mr Stewart.

The Morona Santiago local government announced on Monday evening that the body of Mr Higgins had been found at 5pm local time on the banks of the Upano river, about 30km south of the Abanico river where the men were kayaking.

The fifth member of the group, English man Adam Vaughen, is still missing.

The family of Mr Higgins a released a statement on Tuesday describing their loss and their great pride in him.

An engineer and graduate of University College Galway, Mr Higgins had qualified as a kayak instructor and had been lucky enough to follow his dream, the statement said.

“David was a vibrant and special person who filled our lives with joy during his life, “the family said.

“He excelled in his studies and qualified as an engineer from UCG but it was the lure of the white water that attracted him more than anything. Having gained extensive experience and qualifications as a kayak instructor, David was lucky enough to have been able to follow his dream and work and travel doing what he loved best - kayaking white water,” it said.

“While his life was all too short, we can only express our pride at all David did and achieved in his time and while we are devastated at the loss of our shining light, we take comfort from knowing that he lived his life to the full,” the statement said.

In Ireland, tributes were paid to Mr McGourty, who had travelled to Ecuador earlier this month.

‘Fulfilling his dreams’

A past pupil of Summerhill College in Sligo, he received a one-year scholarship to the World Class Kayak Academy in Washington in 2016.

The Sligo Kayak Club posted that it was with “profound sadness we announce the passing of club member and trainee-instructor Alex McGourty. Alex tragically died while fulfilling his dreams, kayaking in Ecuador”.

The club expressed its sympathies to Mr McGourty’s parents, Frankie and Eilish, and described their former member as “one of the finest young men we had the honour of knowing and padding with”.

Sligo Kayak Tours also posted about Mr McGourty’s death, describing him as “a promising young kayaker from Sligo” who had “a passion for life which was infectious” and who was “kind and hardworking”.

“Let his passing be a reminder to us to chase our dreams, to live passionately and to seize each day as if it were our last,” wrote the tour company.

Mr McGourty posted last week on his Instagram account that he and the group had hiked six hours in the jungle into the "hidden upper Abanico" to go kayaking. He had spent two months kayaking in Nepal in late 2017 before returning to Ireland for Christmas and then travelling on to Ecuador.