Illinois kayaker safe after search in Florida Everglades

MIAMI – The U.S. Coast Guard says searchers safely located a 57-year-old Illinois man on Tuesday after he was reported missing during what was supposed to be a 10-day kayaking trip through the Florida Everglades.

A Coast Guard statement said James Matthew Soltis of Lockport, Illinois, was found camping by a helicopter crew about 9:50 a.m. The search was launched after Soltis didn’t return as planned from an Everglades Wilderness Waterway kayaking trip.

His daughter told Everglades National Park rangers that Soltis departed from the Flamingo Visitor Center on March 15 and was expected back on Sunday.

National Park officials searched for Soltis on Monday and asked the Coast Guard for help Monday night. The helicopter crew was dispatched for a first-light search Tuesday morning.