BajaNomad

Search operation for missing kayaker in Asunción Bay

Biznaga - 11-14-2025 at 10:39 AM

14 November, 2025 (Google Translate version below)

A search operation has been launched in Asunción Bay to locate a foreigner lost in a kayak.

A 41-year-old U.S. citizen disappeared in Mulegé on November 11 while kayaking in Bahía Asunción

Mulegé, Baja California Sur (BCS). The Baja California Sur State Commission for the Search of Missing Persons issued a missing person alert for Michael Antony “N”, a 41-year-old U.S. citizen, reported missing on November 11, 2025, in Mulegé, Baja California Sur. According to official information, the last time anyone had contact with him was while he was kayaking in the Bahía Asunción area.

The document states: “The last contact was on November 11, 2025, while he was kayaking in the Bahía Asunción area, municipality of Mulegé, Baja California Sur.” Authorities have requested the public's assistance in providing any information that may help locate him.

Michael Antony “N” is 1.80 meters tall, has a slim build, and weighs approximately 79 kilograms. He has blond, wavy hair, no specific details about his eyes, and an oval face. Distinguishing features include attached earlobes and a square chin. At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing clothing that has not been detailed in the official report.

The search is being coordinated by the State Commission for the Search of Missing Persons, which has provided phone numbers and a QR code for receiving information. It is also indicated that the U.S. citizen communicates in English, and there is no information regarding any disabilities. Authorities recommend that anyone with relevant information contact them immediately.

To report information about his whereabouts, you can call (612) 138-14-93 or the national number 800-028-77-83. The international hotline 185-52-62-31-09 is also available. Citizen collaboration is essential to finding Michael Antony “N” and ensuring his safe return.

BCS Noticias:

https://www.bcsnoticias.mx/activan-operativo-de-busqueda-en-...

Floatflyer - 11-14-2025 at 03:56 PM

I see that another report has a fisherman lost off the coast of Baja but doesn't say where. Could these be the same, but doubtful.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/popular-youtube-fisherm...

chippy - 11-14-2025 at 04:25 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Floatflyer  
I see that another report has a fisherman lost off the coast of Baja but doesn't say where. Could these be the same, but doubtful.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/popular-youtube-fisherm...



Same person.

latitude32 - 11-14-2025 at 04:48 PM

Quote: Originally posted by chippy  
Quote: Originally posted by Floatflyer  
I see that another report has a fisherman lost off the coast of Baja but doesn't say where. Could these be the same, but doubtful.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/popular-youtube-fisherm...



Same person.


yeah its Mikey Rijavec a YouTuber from SD fish n sip. what I don't get is who Michael Anthony "N" is ?

[Edited on 11-14-2025 by latitude32]

AKgringo - 11-14-2025 at 08:04 PM

I believe that the "N" indicates that the last name is being withheld.

cupcake - 11-15-2025 at 06:29 PM

The NBC article states that the skiff (not a kayak) was recovered five miles off the shore. Then, at another place in the same article, a person is quoted saying that the skiff washed ashore. It is stated that the six-horsepower skiff engine was not recovered. The article states the person was having engine trouble. Being a land lover, I know next to nothing about boats. Could a person be working on a skiff engine, somehow get tangled up in something on the engine, have the engine detach from the boat and pull the person to the bottom, drowning the person?

[Edited on 11-16-2025 by cupcake]

Timo1 - 11-16-2025 at 12:01 PM

The family has called off the search. His watercraft was not much more than a motorized paddleboard. There has been SO much misinformation about the circumstances. One report had the "boat" found close to shore and another miles from the beach.I live in Asuncion and nobody here would go out in that rig Prayers to the family.

pauldavidmena - 11-16-2025 at 01:26 PM

This was posted on Shari Bondy's Facebook page:

Here is today's official update from the family of Mikey Rijavec.
Thank you, everyone. Thank you for searching, thank you for donating, thank you for praying, thank you for hoping, thank you for supporting in any way. Our family has not been alone during this time, and we are forever grateful for that. We want to hear, “Good morning, good morning, good morning” “Troll Hard” “Yeah buddy” “Living the dream” “YEW!” from Mikey again, but it is time to end the search.
So far, our family has only publicly shared information we knew was necessary and productive to finding Mikey while the search was still ongoing. There were, and continue to be missing pieces and details to be confirmed, however, those directly involved in the search have had access to the information as it was available and exhausted every effort. We understand that people want to know more details of what happened, and here is what we know for certain.
On November 11, at approximately 3:00 pm, Mikey issued a distress call on the radio. He had engine issues, and while trying to fix the issue, his motor dislodged causing his skiff to flip. He was able to upright the skiff and begin paddling, but his skiff had taken on water. We know nothing about what happened to Mikey after that. The distress call was heard by local fishermen. The signal was weak, and the message was not clear, but it was obvious that he needed help. The local fishermen immediately responded and began searching for him, and the US Coast Guard and Mexican Navy/Coast Guard were also immediately notified. Boats continued to search late into the night with no results. The following day, search efforts escalated which included dozens of local boats, every possible resource of the MX Navy, private planes providing aerial support, and ground search efforts by local authorities and community members. The search continued for four days, during which Mikey’s skiff was recovered, but ended on Saturday, November 15.
This still leaves us with a lot of questions we may never have the answers to. We wanted to share this information to help provide some closure, but it does not change what happened or could have happened, and speculation robs us of what is important. Right now more than ever we need to remember Mikey’s lessons. Mikey’s lessons are to practice mindfulness, positivity, and most importantly to recognize the things we can’t control. It’s one thing to learn these lessons, but it’s extremely difficult to practice them. There are a lot of “what ifs” we don’t have control over and never did. We strongly believe that everyone did everything possible to bring Mikey home safe. Mikey practiced gratitude, and we do the same. Today and everyday, stay positive.

mtgoat666 - 11-16-2025 at 05:04 PM

Sad.
Kayaking Lessons take away: Dress for immersion. Know how to self-rescue. Use floatation bags in hull. Paddle with a buddy. Also, wear a leash (wind can blow kayak away from you faster than you can swim, especially if wearing heavy clothes).
Easy to ignore these rules when a few hundred feet off beach. But critical to follow safety rules when miles off shore…

KaceyJ - 11-17-2025 at 09:58 AM

Sad News
Reported local San Diego news says he was found deceased.

cupcake - 11-17-2025 at 11:46 AM

Fishing Influencer Found Dead Several Days After Issuing Mayday Call, Family Says
https://people.com/fishing-influencer-mikey-rijavec-found-de...

"Continued Gregory in his tribute to his late brother: “Mikey was mindful and present every day, and that allowed him to live a longer life than can be measured on a calendar. His mission was to spread his positive energy and make every person he came in contact with better, and he did. Mikey prepared us to deal with this, and if we live by his example we will not only be OK, we will be better.”"

cupcake - 11-17-2025 at 12:07 PM

University of Sea Kayaking - Hypothermia Table
https://www.useakayak.org/references/hypothermia_table.html

In addition to the clothing recommendations, it is suggested to always wear a PFD (personal flotation device).


[Edited on 11-17-2025 by cupcake]

shari - 11-17-2025 at 01:30 PM

I have been extremely busy helping in my way on the search and rescue and later recovery of Mikeys remains. So very sad and tragic and many lessons were learned that will help in future searches and emergencies like this. Any of you on the ocean...please have bright coloured life jackets, paint your kayaks orange or yellow, have some device to put out an emergency signal with location or have someone have access to your live location on Google account.

Mikey was one of a kind, incredible human being that brought stoke to thousands of people and will be sadly missed.
RIP my friend.

latitude32 - 11-17-2025 at 02:04 PM

Paddle out for Mikey Dec 13 at Fiesta Island.....

Ateo - 11-17-2025 at 08:58 PM

RIP to what sounds like a great human being. Thanks to all who helped in the search. People from 1000’s of miles away send their love and appreciation.

JZ - 11-18-2025 at 05:46 AM

Wife and I took an open, two person kayak out in Maui. Got blown more than a half mile off shore. Top 2 or 3 thing that scared me the most ever.

I've stuck to well contained bays since then when kayaking. And very careful when taking the Zodiac out. Have the VHF and an Inreach. Always have someone stay on the boat to come help if needed.



[Edited on 11-18-2025 by JZ]

Skipjack Joe - 1-17-2026 at 09:39 PM

Mikey was 8 miles offshore when the mishap occurred. They found his board 24 hours later still floating near San Pablo. He did not drown because his craft took on water. The locals believe that he drowned because he was not wearing a flotation device and because we went overboard while wearing his waders. Swimming became impossible under those conditions. Had he stayed attached to his craft he probably would have been carried to shore eventually. They found his body 3 days later still in his waders. This is all conjecture of course.

Watch out for tidal actions as well

AKgringo - 1-18-2026 at 10:59 AM

A few years ago, I found a nice beach at the end of a dirt road east of La Paz. I had a shaded area that I could leave my dog in the car and go snorkeling along the beach.

I followed the beachline heading south towards a rocky point that curved out toward deeper water. I was making very good time, and much sooner than expected I was as far as I wanted to go!

The circulation caused by the tide was creating a current that prevented me from swimming back to the beach. Maybe in my younger days I could have conquered that current, but I had to head into the rocky point and walk back barefoot on jagged rocks to get back to the beach!

I hate to think where I would have drifted if I waited a little longer and couldn't make it to the point!

JZ - 1-18-2026 at 11:30 AM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  
A few years ago, I found a nice beach at the end of a dirt road east of La Paz. I had a shaded area that I could leave my dog in the car and go snorkeling along the beach.

I followed the beachline heading south towards a rocky point that curved out toward deeper water. I was making very good time, and much sooner than expected I was as far as I wanted to go!

The circulation caused by the tide was creating a current that prevented me from swimming back to the beach. Maybe in my younger days I could have conquered that current, but I had to head into the rocky point and walk back barefoot on jagged rocks to get back to the beach!

I hate to think where I would have drifted if I waited a little longer and couldn't make it to the point!


Scary stuff.

surabi - 1-18-2026 at 02:13 PM

While many people enjoy doing things solo, it's really important to let someone who cares about you know where you are, what you are intending to do, and when you intend to be back, so if they don't hear back from you in that timeframe, they know to be concerned and where to look.

The movie 127 Hours, based on the true story of what happened to Aron Ralston, when he was hiking alone in the Utah desert and ended up trapped in a ravine by a boulder that had fallen from above, pinning his arm to the wall of the ravine, and ending up sawing his own arm off to finally free himself after days trapped there, is a story everyone who enjoys solo adventures should heed.
He never told anyone where he was going and when he planned to be back, feeling young and independent and invulnerable, an attitude his friends and family were so used to, they had to just stop worrying about him if he didn't answer his phone for days.

It was such a freak thing that happened, a boulder suddenly falling spontaneously from above, that he could never have imagined or prepared for, unlike known possibilities, like ocean currents or slipping and falling on a hike, or getting lost.

[Edited on 1-18-2026 by surabi]

bajaric - 1-18-2026 at 02:14 PM

The sea is an unforgiving mistress --

Many years ago when I was young and invincible I was camping at Punta Cabras with a cheap inflatable Sevlor Kayak. I decided to try and get offshore far enough to catch some rock fish and and paddled a couple of miles offshore. No life jacket, no radio, 54 degree water., and in pea soup fog, no less. In hindsight, I am glad I did not catch any rock fish. One puncture from those sharp spines and it would have been my last fishing excursion! It was only much later I reflected on how dangerous that was.

RIP

surabi - 1-18-2026 at 04:32 PM

There used to be a water safety poster around in Canada when I lived there. It had two photos side by side. The first was of a baby sitting on the beach, the ocean in the background, playing with her baby beach toys. The second photo showed the same scene, the beach toys laying on the beach, but with no baby. I thought it was a really effective image.

I'm always astounded when I see quite little kids playing on the beach, right near the water, their parents sitting too far away to be able to run and grab them if a rogue wave comes in.

[Edited on 1-18-2026 by surabi]

Skipjack Joe - 1-19-2026 at 10:21 AM

Videos I've looked at show that you can still swim with breathable waders and float with neoprene waders. It's likely that he couldn't swim fast enough to catch up. I'm reminded by the near death experience one of the members on Kon Tiki had when he jumped off the raft to wash himself. They finally saved him by throwing out a rope to which he was able to swim to.

mtgoat666 - 1-19-2026 at 10:50 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Skipjack Joe  
Videos I've looked at show that you can still swim with breathable waders and float with neoprene waders.


ever tried swimming while wearing waders?

wear a leash! if you fall out of a kayak on a windy day, the kayak will be blown away from you faster than you can swim! and not easy to swim in heavy clothes and waders...

there are specialized kayak and surfski leashes on the market, but they are really just about the same as SUP leashes.



[Edited on 1-19-2026 by mtgoat666]

Skipjack Joe - 1-19-2026 at 02:38 PM

I haven't tried swimming in waders but there are videos of people doing so in their pools to test out the concept. Available on YouTube. Short distances in backyard pools.

I've fished the area of the accident many times. The wind can get very strong there. That wind would blow my aluminum boat all over. Mike's craft is way less stable. He has prior videos of dealing with strong winds in the same area.

On the other hand November is usually one of the calmest times of the year here. So there's that.