Kayaker drowns in Coosa River

An Opelika man died on Sunday while he was kayaking on the Coosa River in Wetumpka.

Charles Reid Cloninger Jr., 71, of Opelika, drowned after he fell out of his kayak near Corn Creek, said Cpl. Jess Thornton, an Alabama State Trooper spokesman for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. 

A bystander, who was also on the water, spotted Cloninger and brought him out of the water near Gold Star Park in Wetumpka shortly after he flipped over. He was rushed to the Elmore Community Hospital, but was pronounced dead soon after, Thornton said.

State troopers from the Marine Patrol Division continue to investigate.

—Rebecca Burylo