SerpApi.Org
The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the man who died Tuesday while kayaking near Dash Point Park.
According to the ME's public portal, the man was 60-year-old Dean James Blanchard of Federal Way.
Witnesses found Blanchard hanging onto a sinking kayak about 100 yards from the shore, The News Tribune previously reported. By the time a person reached him by paddleboard, Blanchard was no longer responsive.
Deputy Carly Cappetto, spokesperson for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, told The News Tribune that East Pierce Fire, Tacoma Fire and Brown’s Point/Dash Point Fire performed life-saving measures on Blanchard for 40 minutes before declaring him deceased. The Marine Services Unit recovered the kayak. Responders did not find any life jackets on board. Cappetto wrote that it is unknown why the kayak sank.
Blanchard’s cause of death is awaiting update.
Dash Point Park is located on the border of Northeast Tacoma and Federal Way.
