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Brenton King's kayak was recovered by firefighters in the Susquehanna River, south of City Island, around 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, Harrisburg police said, as Daily Voice initially reported.
His wife's best friend, Tracy Burkey, detailed the situation in a GoFundMe she launched to help Brent's family:
"On the morning of Friday February 16th Brent went out to do what he loves, fish. He had all the proper gear and equipment. He texted his wife as he was putting his boat in the water and when lunch time came Caley could not reach him. A good friend went to the location that Brent’s phone was showing and his Kayak was in the water, but Brent was not in it. After an exhausting search over the weekend by mostly family and friends, a friend used his drone and was finally able to locate Brent in the water on the evening of Sunday February 18th."
Police confirmed He was found dead on Sunday, Feb. 18 in the Susquehanna River, as we reported at the time.
King was wearing a lifevest when he was found but it was not inflated, the Dauphin County Coroner's office explained on Wednesday, Feb. 21.
His cause of death was freshwater drowning, the manner was ruled accidental, the coroner's office noted.
Condolences have been pouring on social media:
Brent attended Brunswick High School in Maryland in the early 1990s according to his Facebook. He later moved to Frederick, MD, and married Caley Childs-King in 2016.
For fun, he enjoyed fishing, hunting, and golfing, but mostly he liked to spend time with his family, according to social media.
"He was raising two beautiful children with his wife Caley," Tracy said on the GoFundMe. "They have one 6-year-old son and a 12-year[-old] daughter, who Brent stepped in to be a father for when she was 2 after Caley’s first husband died of cancer when their daughter was just 6 months old. He took this role seriously and handled it with love and grace."
The community support for this family is overwhelming with $38,366 raised of a $10,000 goal in less than 24 hours. "Our goal is to ease the burden of Brent’s wife Caley as she continues to raise their children and to help with any expenses of a funeral and whatever the future holds for her," Tracy wrote.
Click here to donate to the GoFundMe campaign to help Brent's family.
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