20/04/2026
PFDs must be correctly fitted to be effective - https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CCRGNjjeA/
Kayaker And Dog Rescued After Kayak Overturned; Second Kayaker Drowns | Aman and his dog were rescued on March 21, 2026, after their kayak overturned on Tomales Bay, in Marin County, California. His girlfriend, now identified as Brigitte Manspeaker, 37, drowned after slipping out of her personal floatation device (PFD), the man reported to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
Rescue crews responded 12 minutes after the Marin County Fire Department relayed reports of two people in the water. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office reported that the rescue crew found the man and dog holding the overturned kayak, and conditions during the rescue were high winds and three-foot swells. The man was later treated for hypothermia. The dog was also recovered safely.
An aerial search ensued and the helicopters located Manspeaker face down and 200 yards from the kayak. She was then brought to shore and received CPR until paramedics arrived and later pronounced her dead.
“Brigitte loved being in nature and respecting the earth,” wrote friend Barbara Ngai in a GoFundMe organized for Manspeaker’s mother. “Whether she was hiking a new trail, swimming in open water, or traveling to a place she’d never been before, she would be sure to honor her surroundings and show gratitude wherever she was.”
The man reportedly told rescuers that his girlfriend slipped out of her PFD and sank into the water. The man, who was rescued, is not seen to be wearing a PFD in the video.
A commenter on the Sonoma County Sheriff’s rescue video shared that her 12-year-old daughter spotted the couple in the water, and she called the emergency in, triggering the rescue. The helicopter was on the scene within 12 minutes of the call. The commenter also wrote that the couple was southwest of Marshall Beach, and drifted quite a distance in the time after she called in the emergency, sharing that she watched the woman lose hold of the kayak and drift further.
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Image: Sonoma Sheriff | Instagram
