Search for missing kayaker near Dumbarton Bridge

MENLO PARK, Calif. (KTVU) - At first daylight Wednesday morning, the Coast Guard will resume an air search for a man who disappeared in the waters off the Dumbarton Bridge, when his kayak capsized Tuesday afternoon.

The missing man has been identified as Kenneth Maldonado, 32, of San Jose.

Authorities called off the air search late Tuesday night, but a Coast Guard Cutter remained on patrol, looking for him., officials said.

Maldonado's friend had called for help at 4:38 p.m.Tuesday.

Rescue crews found the friend on a raft about half an hour later, on the Fremont side of San Francisco Bay.

The friend then told authorities that he was on a separate watercraft than Maldonado.

When the friend looked back, Maldonado was gone.

His kayak had flipped over, and he had left his life vest in the kayak.

"We hope it's going to end well, but any time nightfall hits when you've got someone in the water with no floatation, it's hard to say," Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said. "We hope for the best."

Aircraft were deployed by the Coast Guard and the California Highway Patrol. Menlo Park firefighters and the Fremont Fire Department both used drones to search the shoreline.

Firefighters from Redwood City, San Jose, Santa Clara, Fremont and Alameda County all sent water rescue assets - and a total of 13 boats from various agencies eventually got involved in the search, according to
Schapelhouman.

"The ability to hit it hard and have so many water craft down at this end of the bay is a great example of how far we've come," Schapelhouman said. "We haven't found this guy yet and it's hard to say how it's going to
turn out, but it was a tremendous effort that we haven't seen before."

Rescuers used FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) technology, which can pick up a heat signature - but the victim has been in the water for more than an hour and may have gotten cold.

"Best case scenario, maybe he was able to swim to shore and he's sitting someplace where we can't see him," Schapelhouman said. "It's a big bay out there."

As of 10 p.m. Maldonado had not been located when local police and fire personnel went home for the night.

According to Coast Guard Ensign Courtney Hanson, a patrol boat will remain on scene to continue the search throughout the night. A helicopter and a small boat from Station San Francisco will return first
thing Wednesday morning to continue the search at first light.