Bay Area man drowns at Sand Harbor
By Kathryn Reed
A San Mateo man drowned at Sand Harbor after he fell off a borrowed standup paddleboard.
Kenneth Campo, 42, was between 200 and 300 yards from shore to the right of the boat ramp on Aug. 23 about 3:45pm. Witnesses told authorities they heard him yell, fall and never surface.
Someone on shore swam to the area and was able to pull Campo off the bottom of the lake from about 20-feet down. Campo was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
Ed Lyngar with the Nevada Department of Wildlife said the death is under investigation.
“People who visit Tahoe are often unprepared for cold water. Cold water shock is a real thing,” Lyngar told Lake Tahoe News. “Cold water can cause swim failure. That is why we say a life jacket is the most important piece of equipment you can have.”
Lyngar was quick to add that it is too soon to know if that is what happened in this case.
Lake Tahoe can feel warm to the touch, especially this time of year, or even a foot down. But farther down and farther offshore it can quickly drop to 60 degrees.
Lyngar said because Campo borrowed the board he missed out on the safety talk from the rental company that would have gone over issues about the water temperature.
A life jacket was secured to the paddleboard with the leash that is supposed to be strapped to a paddler’s ankle.
The law in Nevada is standup paddlers must have a life jacket on the paddle. People 12 and younger must wear a jacket.
a week ago, an you call this news…
Inyo backyard — It was 4 days ago. If you don’t like the site there are others out there.
Who gave Campo the board?
Another ill prepared tourist. WHEN will they learn?!
It’s called natural selection.
RIP,Sir.
Always sad to hear about people losing there life while having fun.
But these things happen. Fortunately not too often’
Too soon to pass judgment. Actually always too soon for that. Did he have a heart attack before falling in? Did he know how to swim at all? Do hope there’s a follow up story on this. Laws requiring life jackets are too much already for anyone with common sense. Suppose after this story is fleshed out, SUP riders will be required to wear helmets as well.
The official response is the usual clueless BS. Cold water drowned him? It’s 65-70 degrees this time of year. I swim the lake every day without a wetsuit. Most likely he was knocked over in windy conditions (late afternoon) and/or boat wakes (he was right outside the boat ramp) and couldn’t swim, and panicked. Or maybe he had a hear attack? 200-300 yards from shore? If he could swim, why not just swim in (my son could swim 300 yards at age 5). Even if he was “cold”, why couldn’t he swim 5-10 feet to his board? If he couldn’t swim, what was he doing paddle boarding in windy conditions?
Sad and unfortunate. Very likely that this person suffered a heart attack, or simply could not swim which would indicate that he should have been wearing the life jacket that was allegedly attached to the board he was on.
Also unfortunately, there are no signs posted ANYWHERE at Lake Tahoe that it is a law that there must be a PFD carried on board. Thus, one is risking a citation and arrest by not carrying one on board, even on one’s personal board.
I find the law to be ridiculous. What good is carrying a PFD and simply attaching it to the board? The board acts as a PFD in that case. It is law that children 12 and under must be wearing them. For adults, it appears to be a gray area.