Travis Valenti GoFundMe raises over $20,000 in search of newly engaged man who drowned in a Washington National Park

On Friday, June 9, 37-year-old Travis Valenti disappeared in the water while kayaking in Washington's Olympic National Park. In the wake of the incident, friends of the victim's family started a GoFundMe page to help with the search and recovery of his body. As of Wednesday, June 14, the initiative has exceeded its $20,000 goal, raising $20,921.

As per the Sun Herald, the incident occurred while Travis Valenti was kayaking with his fiancee in Lake Crescent, situated in the park. They were reportedly close to the Log Cabin Resort near Port Angeles.

Valenti's family is attempting to locate his body and bring it back to Massapequa, New York, where he is originally from.

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The circumstances that led to the death of Travis Valenti

On June 13, Washington officials stated the incident happened at approximately 2:10 pm. Travis Valenti was kayaking with his fiancee when his boat began to fill up with water. He reportedly attempted to continue paddling, but eventually became exhausted.

Valenti's fiancee tried to help him while he struggled, but her kayak flipped over. Officials confirmed that neither of the two was wearing a life jacket.

Travis Valenti's brother, Austin, described the course of events to Long Island News. Austin said that before Travis vanished into the water, he was able to nudge his fiancee and help her get to shore:

“Travis get her the extra little push that she needed to get safe, and they still haven’t found him since Friday at 2 or 3 pm," he said.

Desperate, Valenti's fiancee swam to the shoreline while he vanished in the water. She proceeded to inform staff at the resort, leading to several employees searching for Valenti with the use of a motorized boat. However, despite a two day search, they found no sign of the victim.

Officials at Olympic Park noted that the lake is a 'deep and very cold' body of water, making the chances of survival slim:

“Sudden immersion into cold water will impact a person’s breathing and over time, their ability to move extremities," they elaborated.

Speaking to reporters, Austin Valenti described the victim as a positive individual who was always happy to help others.

“He can light up a room and make anybody laugh. He was just everybody’s favorite guy, including Marlene’s and all of ours, they were just a beautiful couple, and they had this beautiful life planned out and it just gets cut so short out of nowhere,” he said.

Officials said that in order to prevent drowning incidents, vacationers should use life-vests and the buddy system to stay safe.