A 37-year-old Yuba City man who told his family he was heading to Clear Lake for a kayaking trip was found dead in the water, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. Karmagit Singh was last seen the morning of September 17 and reported missing the following day, and his body was recovered on September 21, four days after he was last seen and three days after he was reported missing, after a fisherman spotted him floating in the lake and called 911.
Singh's disappearance prompted a search, as reported by the Sacramento Bee and the Lake County Sheriff's Office. His vehicle was found near Highway 20 in Lucerne.
A Search Using Boats, Drones and Shoreline Patrols
The search effort included boats, drones, and shoreline patrols, as reported by the Sacramento Bee. The search did not locate Singh.
On September 21, a fisherman spotted Singh's body floating in Clear Lake and placed the 911 call that allowed deputies to recover his remains. Deputies said they observed no apparent signs of foul play, per the sheriff's office, and the circumstances surrounding his death remain under investigation.
No Life Jacket Recovered, Sheriff's Office Says
Singh was not wearing a life jacket when his body was recovered, officials said. In its announcement concluding the search, the Lake County Sheriff's Office issued a public warning urging anyone using Clear Lake and other local waterways to wear a properly fitted, Coast Guard-approved life jacket, noting that conditions on the water can change quickly. Deputies said wearing a life jacket is one of the simplest steps a person can take to stay safe.
California law offers a narrower safeguard than many paddlers might assume. Under California boating-equipment rules, human-powered watercraft like kayaks are required to carry at least one wearable, Coast Guard-approved life jacket for each person aboard, according to the California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways. Carrying a life jacket and wearing one are distinct safety practices.
Why Life Jackets Matter So Much on the Water
Nationally, drowning accounts for 76 percent of all recreational boating deaths, and 87 percent of those drowning victims were not wearing a life jacket, according to U.S. Coast Guard data relayed by the National Safe Boating Council. Kayaks in particular carry elevated risk, with Coast Guard data for 2021 ranking them second in fatalities among vessel classes, behind open motorboats, as reported by Rapid Media.
California's own numbers tell a similar story. Historical data compiled by the California Department of Boating and Waterways shows drowning causes roughly 67 percent of all boating fatalities in the state, with 84 percent of drowning victims found without a life jacket, according to figures relayed by the Demas Law Group, P.C. Clear Lake itself adds another layer of risk: as the largest natural freshwater lake entirely within California, it has shallow average depths and a broad surface area where sudden strong winds can quickly stir the water column and change surface conditions, according to research published in Elementa.
Investigators have not yet released findings on the exact cause or timing of Singh's death, and it remains unclear whether the inflatable kayak itself was ever recovered. For now, the Lake County Sheriff's Office is pointing to the outcome as a reminder of how fast conditions on the water can turn, and how significant a life jacket can be when they do.
