Family of Massapequa man missing from sinking kayak hopes to bring him home

The family of a Massapequa man last seen struggling in a Washington state lake after abandoning a sinking kayak on Friday said they fear the worst but hope to bring him home.

Travis Valenti, 37, had gone to Olympic National Park to propose last Wednesday to his girlfriend of about six years, Marlene Junker, his brother, Austin Valenti, said.

The couple were in separate kayaks on the park's Lake Crescent on Friday when Valenti's boat began filling with water and he was forced to jump out, according to his brother and a news release from the U.S. National Park Service.

Junker "was trying to kayak while she was holding onto him and then had to jump out,” Austin Valenti said. “They tried to swim and were struggling when he pushed her to shore, and he’s been missing since Friday.”

National Park officials said Valenti's fiancee tried to rescue him but her kayak overturned. She was able to swim to shore. Neither were wearing life jackets, park officials said.

Junker had water in her lungs but was able to come home to Long Island on Sunday, Austin Valenti said.

Rangers searched for Valenti "by vessel for more than 2 hours but were unable to locate him. A secondary search of the area and shoreline was also conducted on June 10 without any signs of Mr. Valenti," the park service news release said.

Olympic National Park officials said the search will continue depending on when rangers are available. Rangers are treating the case as a presumed drowning, park spokesman Amos Almy said.

"Drownings at Lake Crescent unfortunately occur at least once a year," Almy said.

Park rangers spoke to a dive team, but noted the last known point where Valenti disappeared could not be located and divers determined the water was too deep.

"It's such a large area and the depth is so great that the dive team said it was unfeasible to search," Almy said. 

The area of the lake where Valenti was last seen is about a quarter-mile offshore, the park service release said, and the water in that area is "roughly 400-500 feet deep."

“Lake Crescent is a deep and very cold body of water with surface water temperatures near 50 degrees this time of year,” the release said. “Sudden immersion into cold water will impact a person’s breathing and over time, their ability to move extremities.”

Family members are hoping to raise money through a GoFundMe page to pay a search and recovery team to comb the lake and bring his brother home, Austin Valenti said.

He described his brother as an outdoorsman — "the biggest adventure guy" — and said he worked for a hedge fund.

“He was everyone’s favorite guy and the most loving person in the whole world," Austin Valenti said. "He enjoyed anything outdoors, kayaking, hiking, swimming and even a hot-air balloon."

He recalled how his brother described being on the lake with his fiancee: "He said it was his happy place."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.