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After checking the identification number on the kayak used by James Lind and Doreen Wallace on Oct. 1 in their fatal accident, Wilton police said it had been stolen from Compo Beach in Westport.
According to Lt. Donald Wakeman of the Wilton Police Department, Lind received the kayak as a gift last year. Wakeman said Lind was not suspected of stealing the kayak and said the department was pursuing information on who gave it to Lind. "We are currently investigating who Lind's friend is," Wakeman said. The kayak was found shortly after 6 p.m. Oct. 1 near Wallace while she was floating unconscious in the Norwalk River, which was swollen from heavy rains.
It is in police possession as they continue to investigate what happened that night. The owner who reported the kayak stolen has identified it as his.
Wallace, 50, of Cannon Road, was pronounced dead later Oct. 1 at Norwalk Hospital. Lind, 46, of Cannon Road, was found dead in the river at about noon Oct. 4 about a mile downstream.
Wilton police officers and firefighters searched from Oct. 1 through Oct. 4 for Lind's body with help from the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Wilton Community Emergency Response Team. Westport and Norwalk emergency personnel also helped with the search.
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