Search for missing canoer called off

The search for a missing Bayliss man was essentially halted Wednesday morning, three days after he fell into the Sacramento River when his canoe capsized, Sheriff Larry Jones said.

Jones said authorities would continue the search for the body of James John Paidl, 62, but with “periodic patrols” only. The full search was called off at 11 o’clock.

Recovery efforts were hampered, Jones said, by cold, fast-moving, murky waters. Jones called the roughly half-mile stretch of river between County Road 29 and the eastern end of Highway 45, near Ord Bend, “one of the most dangerous stretches that we patrol.”

“There is zero visibility for our cameras at the bottom,” Jones said. “And (the search area) is not a place I’m going to authorize our divers; it’s far too dangerous.”

Jones said a helicopter from the California Highway Patrol would continue to make periodic sweeps.

“We’re now trying to arrange for scanning and other sonar equipment on either Sunday or Monday depending on availability,” Jones said.

He said if the body is found in that area, authorities would re-evaluate the situation and possibly call for a more advanced dive team.

The boat capsized just before 2:30 p.m. Monday, the sheriff’s office said.

Paidl and another man, Robert William Heberle, 60, of Woodland, had launched the canoe in Hamilton City and were heading to Ord Bend. Heberle swam ashore and was treated for hypothermia, but was otherwise unharmed, authorities said.

Both men were experienced boatsmen who had navigated that same portion of the Sacramento River before, Jones said.

Jones said he advised Paidl’s wife and daughters to expect “a protracted search.”

“We’ll just have to wait to see what the future holds,” Jones said.