Kayaker's body found in Smokies, ID released

Kayaker's body found in Smokies, ID released

GATLINBURG (WATE) -- The body of a missing kayaker was found Wednesday morning in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Isaac Ludwig, 27, of Hartford, Tennessee, disappeared Tuesday while paddling on the Road Prong, a tributary to the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River.

Ludwig's body was found by two kayakers who weren't part of the search teams. They were running the river on their own.

His body was about 1,000 feet downstream from the confluence of the Road Prong and the West Prong of the Little Pigeon. It was tangled in vegetation in an extremely rugged area. Park officials say the recovery effort will be lengthy.

Ludwig, an experienced kayaker who had a helmet, life vest and a Liquid Logic whitewater kayak, was in class five to six whitewater.

A kayak similar to his was found Tuesday near the Chimney Tops picnic area in the river wrapped around a tree. However, it belonged to another person not involved in the incident.

The area where Ludwig disappeared is about five miles south of Gatlinburg in a very steep, rocky part of the river.

Ludwig and two other kayakers who were guides, Jared Seiler, 23, of Gladwyne, Pa., and James Donahue, 24, of Nashville, went into the river Tuesday.

The trio entered the water near the Chimney Tops Trailhead planning to run rapids on the lower section of the Road Prong.

The group also planned to take out before they reached the West Prong, but Ludwig didn't make it to the designated spot at the picnic area. His friends reported him missing around 7:45 p.m.

Groups of kayakers helped park rangers with the search Wednesday, putting in at the Chimney Tops Trailhead, searching the stream and along the river banks.

Teams of rangers and the Gatlinburg Swift Water Rescue Team also hiked along the river to comb the banks.

Ludwig did paddlesports marketing for a company called Rafting in the Smokies. He was originally from Ohio.

The portion of the river near the Chimney Tops picnic area is known as a difficult stretch because of the number of rocks. Skilled kayakers often paddle the portion of the Little Pigeon River right after heavy rains when the water is high.

Officials say the search area is a substantial distance from Newfound Gap Road so response efforts overnight were restricted to monitoring the river from the Chimney Tops picnic area.

The stream level dropped about two feet since Tuesday evening, but it was still very rapid and turbulent.

6 News Reporters Harlow Sumerford and Ann Keil contributed to this report.