SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Two missing kayakers were found safe Tuesday evening in Lake Harney as bands from Hurricane Dorian began lapping at Central Florida's coast bringing dangerous wind and rain, according to Seminole County Fire and Rescue officials.
The two kayakers launched at 6 p.m. and were reported missing by their families when they didn't return. Seminole County Fire and Rescue and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials pinged their cellphones and found the kayakers around 11 p.m. near C.S. Lee Park off State Road 46 in Geneva, Seminole County Fire Battalion Chief Ed Pondo said.
A large presence of fire rescue crews and Seminole County deputies were searching the water for 45 minutes Tuesday night before the kayakers were found. News 6 was there just before midnight when the kayakers were brought back to a boat ramp off Lake Harney.
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Pondo said things could have been much worse. Neither of the kayakers were taken to the hospital.
"Luckily with the phones that we got we can pin them on the Google Maps and we knew exactly where they were," Pondo said.
Lake Harney borders Seminole and Volusia counties and connects to the St. Johns River. Areas of Volusia were reporting sustained winds of 40 mph around 11 p.m. as Hurricane Dorian moved slowly up the coast.