Co-Founder of Paddleboard Company, 36, Dies in 'Unexpected' Paddleboarding Accident on Idaho River

Nicholas Zawadzki.Photo: Nicholas Zawadzki/instagram

The co-founder of a paddleboarding company is presumed dead following “a complete freak and unexpected accident” on an Idaho river while doing the very activity he dedicated his life to.

Sheriff Scott Turner with the Boise County Sheriff’s Office told theStatesmanthat the 36-year-old co-founder ofHydrus Board Tech, an outdoor sporting company that specializes in whitewater paddleboards, was knocked off his board just a few miles south of Banks around 6:30 p.m.

“[He] went through some rapids,” Turner explained to the outlet in a phone interview. “We don’t know if he got hung up or just got pulled under.”

“It was just a complete freak and unexpected accident on a section that Nick had rode standing up on his paddleboard hundreds of times,” said Jason, who co-founded the paddleboarding company with Nicholas in 2013, per the outlet.

“Just one-in-a-billion chance bad luck,” Jason added to the outlet. “It was his time to go.”

Since he disappeared under the water, Nicholas' helmet and life jacket have both surfaced, Turner told theStatesman. However, his body has not yet been recovered, leading authorities to presume that Nicholas drowned, according to the outlet.

In the wake of the tragedy, local officials and crews from Garden Valley Fire, Horseshoe Bend Fire, Mountain West Commercial Diving and local rafting companies spent two days on the water searching for Nicholas' body, theStatesmanreported.

On Wednesday, the search was halted, with Turner telling theStatesmanthat it would remain paused “until we can come up with some other plans and resources to do some different types of searching.”

Despite that, Nicholas' family is refusing to give up as Jason attempts “to get the dam operators to lower the water level” for a day to help recover his brother’s body, the outlet reported.

While they continue to search, Jason paid tribute to his little brother in a statement on Facebook and thanked his followers for their support during this heartbreaking time.

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“I’m going to miss my little brother dearly!” headded in a separate post.

Jeffrey Banksalso shared a tribute poston the Whitewater SUP [Stand Up Paddling] Facebook group, which Nicholas was a member of.

source: people.com