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Man died in reservoir after buying kayak online

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date30 March 2024
Publication titleHuddersfield Daily Examiner
Outdoors enthusiast Artur Olszewski, 40, had told his wife Iwona that wanted to try kayaking, which he had not done before. He decided to buy one second-hand for £25 after he had seen an advert on Facebook Marketplace

Artur drove to Ripponden near Halifax on Sunday, July 30, 2023, to buy the 9ft kayak from Trevor Taylor which he managed to fit into his car by removing the front seat, Bradford Coroner's Court heard.

Mr Taylor described the kayak as 'quite old' and said it was made from moulded plastic and had one seat.

Artur, right, did not return home and was reported missing. Iwona's friend Agata retraced Artur's journey to Halifax and on July 31 came across his Vauxhall Insignia parked on Oldham Road, near Booth Wood Reservoir, close to the M62 and off the A672 near Ripponden, West Yorkshire.

Agata then spotted a kayak on the far side of the reservoir and alerted police.

A paddle was then found on a rock on the north-east side of the reservoir.

Police officers and police divers with West Yorkshire Police then carried out an extensive search of the reservoir and the surrounding area but Artur could not be found.

On the tenth day of the search, August 10, officers spotted something in the middle of the reservoir which was tragically confirmed to be Artur.

A post-mortem examination confirmed that Artur had drowned.

In a statement, Iwona said Artur had loved the outdoors and had worked as a carpenter. He had spoken about his plan to buy a kayak for a couple of weeks, she said. She said...

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