Friends mysteriously found dead after midnight canoeing trip to remote California island

Two canoeists were mysteriously found dead after setting out on a late-night trip through a remote section of California’s Tomales Bay — with one of the victims identified as a 36-year-old San Francisco man.

Casey Flynn Melia was recovered unresponsive near Hog Island Sunday after he and a friend left their campsite shortly before midnight Saturday, Marin County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division said.

The pair never made it back to their camping party the following morning, prompting the group to call 911 and triggering a search-and-rescue operation.

The US Coast Guard found the first canoeist unresponsive in the water and transported the person to Bodega Bay in Sonoma County, where emergency personnel pronounced them dead.

A short time later, search teams located Melia near Hog Island. National Park Service personnel recovered his body and brought him to Sacramento Landing, where he was pronounced dead.

It remains unclear what happened during the mysterious overnight excursion or how the two ended up in the water.

The Sonoma County Sheriff-Coroner Bureau is investigating the death of the first victim, while the deaths are also being investigated jointly by the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, the Coast Guard and the National Park Service.

Post-mortem examinations and routine toxicology testing for Melia are scheduled for later this week. The official causes and manners of death for both victims remain pending.

Tomales Bay, along California’s Point Reyes coast, is a remote area that can pose hazards to paddlers, particularly those navigating at night in small watercraft.

The deaths come months after another fatal incident on the bay. A woman died in March after her kayak overturned near Point Reyes.

Authorities have not released the identity of the second canoeist. The investigation remains active.

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