The bodies of a Lotus band member and his 20-year-old son have been found more than three weeks after they disappeared while kayaking on Beaver Lake in Arkansas during a spring break family vacation.
Chuck Morris, 46, the percussionist for Colorado jam band Lotus, and his son Charlie Morris have never returned after taking to the water last month.
On Sunday, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office announced that their bodies had been recovered.
Major Kenneth Paul led the search efforts using many sources from around the country – diving 180 feet.
Investigators spent 24 days searching using helicopters, drones, sonar, divers and dogs. Both bodies were recovered last weekend.
The bodies of Chuck Morris, 46, right, the percussionist for Colorado jam band Lotus, and his son Charlie Morris, 20, were found Sunday in a lake where they had gone kayaking
Rescue workers searched Beaver Lake in Arkansas for 24 days to find the bodies of Chuck Morris and son Charley
Chuck Morris is pictured with his son Charley, wife Jennifer and their daughter
The father and son’s kayaks were found early in the search, while Chuck’s hat and coat were also found.
It is believed that the pair drowned after one fell into the cold water of the lake and the other tried to save them.
“What saved me from the beginning of this is that they died together; they were together,” said Chuck’s wife and Charlie’s mother, Jennifer Thompson ABC newsadding that she “misses her boys.”
The family had decided to travel from Kansas City to Beaver Lake during spring break after Lotus completed a 25-city tour.
Chuck and Charlie, a sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University who wanted to become lawyers, decided to go kayaking on the lake despite the strong currents and high waves.
Chuck and Charlie, a sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University who wanted to become lawyers, decided to go kayaking on the lake, despite the strong current and three-foot waves.
Investigators spent more than three weeks searching Beaver Lake and the surrounding area using helicopters, drones, sonar and dogs. The bodies of the father and son were found on Sunday
Chuck Morris of Lotus performs on stage in Gulf Shores, Alabama in 2013
Chuck Morris of Lotus performs during the Sin City Incidents at the Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas on February 15, 2015
“We thought it would be a great idea for Chuck and Charlie to be able to get on the kayaks before a storm hit,” Thompson said, adding that she and their 12-year-old daughter had decided to leave them to go to town. to go. .
But when Thompson and her daughter returned, the father and son were not at the house where they were staying.
“We got home and they weren’t back yet. My husband being the adventurer that he is, we’re like ‘oh they must be having a great time,’ she said. But Thompson said she started to panic and started looking for the pair.
Chuck Morris of Lotus is seen on stage in Okeechobee, Florida in 2016
Chuck Morris, Mike Greenfield, Mike Rempel, Jesse Miller and Luke Miller of Lotus performing at The Fillmore in San Francisco, California in April 2012
She couldn’t find them and called the police who searched the lake and later found their kayaks. Thompson described them as “beautifully gentle, loving men.”
Thompson added, “We are overwhelmed with the love from around the world for Chuck and Charley, and we will be celebrating their lives and contributions to the world at gatherings to be announced in the coming days and weeks.”
“Chuck was fun and creative and funny, and Charlie was pensive and serious and very much believed in people’s responsibility to be good.”
a GoFundMe page was set up and raised more than $195,000 for the family’s expenses.
Lotus had previously announced a series of benefit concerts in Denver, Pennsylvania and New York with proceeds going directly to the Morris family.
The first benefit shows will take place at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver on April 21 and April 22. Two other dates are scheduled for May 5 at XL Live in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and May 6 at The Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York.