Drowned Kayaker Was “Novice Swimmer”: Autopsy

An exchange student from Ghana who fell into Mission Bay while kayaking drowned because he was a “novice swimmer,” a Medical Examiner’s Office report finds.

Abdul Razak Shanun, 17, had just finished his junior year at Balboa City School, where he was recruited to play basketball on a student visa. His dream was to stay in the United States to play for the NBA until on Aug. 23, he and his friends decided to rent kayaks at Sail Bay.

[G] Lifeguards Search for Missing Kayaker

Riding in a single-person kayak, Shanun somehow fell overboard near Santa Clara Point. Witnesses say the teenage had his life jacket in his hand, but he lost his grip and quickly sank after screaming for help.

His friends and good Samaritans rushed to save him, but they could not reach him in time, the ME’s report says.

It was not until the next morning that divers recovered his body. Sonar equipment helped detect Shanun in roughly 20 feet of water.

During an interview with investigators, the victim’s housemother described Shanun as a “novice swimmer,” which aligned with the ME’s findings.

An autopsy did not reveal any drugs or alcohol in his system, and “there was no evidence of significant acute trauma or natural disease identified,” it says.

The ME determined Shanun’s cause of death was drowning, and the manner was an accident.

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