Body pulled from Round Valley is missing kayaker

• Body was recovered in 51 feet of water, 150 yards off the shore
• Search for missing kayaker resumed at 8 a.m. Thursday
• State Police said an autopsy will be performed
• Man was not wearing a life vest

CLINTON TOWNSHIP – The body of a missing kayaker was recovered Thursday afternoon in 51 feet of water at Round Valley Reservoir.

The body of Chen Shao, 25, of North Brunswick, was recovered 150 yards off the shore of the recreation facility at 3:20 p.m., said State Trooper Alina Spies. He was last seen in the water swimming toward an overturned blue kayak at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Spies said the cause of death will be determined by an autopsy by the Hunterdon County medical examiner.

The State Police’s Marine Unit, using side-scan sonar, found the body after 6 ½ hours of searching. The unit’s divers made the recovery, Spies said.

Shao was not wearing a life vest, she said. One of the rules for boaters stated on Round Valley’s website says each person must have on a wearable Coast Guard-approved Personal Flotation Device.

State Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Larry Ragonese said the missing kayaker was believed to be in his 20s. The DEP oversees the 2,000 acres of Round Valley. The reservoir is one of the deepest lakes in the state and is popular with boaters and campers. The search for the missing kayaker resumed at 8 a.m. Thursday after a storm ended the search at 7:40 p.m. Wednesday.

On April 1, 2013, a New York man fishing from a small boat in the reservoir died after ending up in the water.

There are six men whose bodies have never been recovered in the waters of the reservoir. Authorities scoured the lake with a submarine in 2006 but were not able to locate any of their remains.

Staff Writer Everett Merrill: 908-243-6606; emerrill@mycentral jersey.com