Canoeist’s body found in Driftwood River: Columbus engineer was with 15 friends when watercraft capsized

Authorities on Sunday recovered the body of a missing Columbus man from the Driftwood River near Edinburgh.

Siddharth S. Panicker, 27, an engineer for Faurecia in Columbus, had been canoeing with about 15 friends Saturday afternoon when his watercraft capsized, said Cpl. Jet Quillen, a spokesman for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Panicker’s body was found at 10:56 a.m. Sunday near where his canoe capsized by emergency personnel in water-rescue boats, Quillen said.

The area of the river where Panicker was found was about 16 feet deep, in a river bend about a mile north of Heflen Park near the Blues Canoe Livery of Edinburgh, which had provided the party’s canoes. Although the canoe rental business provides life jackets, Panicker was not wearing one when his canoe capsized, witnesses told first responders.

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“This is a popular place for boating and kayaking and camping,” Quillen said of the Heflen Park area. “But you have to keep in mind it can be dangerous around water. You have got to remember the danger is always there. Use life jackets; they save lives.”

Friends and Panicker’s fiance had gone to the park Sunday morning where searchers were launching boats, keeping vigil in the hopes for Panicker’s safe return. They watched from a distance at the back of the park as the Bartholomew County Water Rescue team’s airboat brought Panicker’s body to shore. They declined comment to the media.

Panicker’s family in India was notified shortly after his body was found by DNR, and Bartholomew County Coroner Clayton Nolting also spoke with the friends who had gathered at the park.

Nolting early Sunday afternoon ruled Panicker’s death as an accidental drowning.

He was initially reported missing at 4:26 p.m. Saturday when his canoe capsized, Quillen said.

Witnesses said Panicker initially went underwater, resurfaced briefly and then disappeared. The friends canoeing with Panicker attempted to rescue him, but said he disappeared and the water depth they were in was well over their heads.

Panicker’s occupation is listed as a Faurecia tooling engineer in Columbus, working in manufacturing, supply chain and operational processes for about a year, according to background information online. He held a master’s degree from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; and a bachelor of engineering degree in automobile engineering from the University of Mumbai in Maharashtra, India.

The canoe remained submerged under logs in the river bend, and that is where the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Bartholomew County water rescue team concentrated their efforts to find Panicker on Sunday, Quillen said.

It is a common strategy to focus where the individual was last seen as past experience has shown that they are usually found near that location, he said.

Three boats were launched from the Heflen Park boat ramp at about 8:15 a.m. Sunday, including two DNR boats with sonar capabilities and the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department air boat.

Quillen said the river was a little high on Saturday when the canoes were out, but not at a level that would be considered dangerous. The river was down about a foot Sunday morning, although the current remained strong throughout the Saturday and Sunday searches, he said.

In addition to the water being 14 to 16 feet deep near where the canoe overturned, the channel there is filled with dumped concrete pieces and rebar, making it too dangerous to send divers in to search for Panicker, water rescue team members said.

The searchers had worked until nightfall Saturday trying to find Panicker, and Quillen said they were lucky to find him relatively quickly Sunday given the circumstances. Quillen said first responders wanted to give the family some closure as quickly as possible.

The Salvation Army brought lunches to the water rescue personnel on Sunday, and a friend of Panicker’s who was among those on the canoe trip also brought food and drinks to the park Sunday morning.

Indiana Conservation Officers were assisted in the search and recovery by Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, Columbus Fire Department, Franklin Fire Department, German Township Fire Department, Bargersville Fire Department, Indianapolis Fire Department and Indiana State Police.