The body of a newly engaged New Yorker who drowned in a Washington state park after proposing to his fiancée has been recovered – marking the end of has been a weekslong search for the man’s remains.
The body of Massapequa’s Travis Valenti was pulled from the depths of Lake Crescent at Olympic National Park at approximately 6:25pm PT Wednesday, by members of a nearby non-profit organization.
Called the Christian Missionaries, the Ohio-based group searched the notoriously deep lake using boat-mounted sonar technology, finding the body within hours of beginning their effort that morning.
Officials had spent days looking for the lost 37-year-old, who reportedly helped push fiancée Marlene Junker to safety after their kayaks overturned on June 9, likely saving her life.
Following the Ohio Missionaries’ find, a remote-operated vehicle was deployed to retrieved the late Long Islander, who had long been presumed dead. His corpse was found at a depth of 394 feet, officials later confirmed.
The body of Massapequa’s Travis Valenti was pulled from the depths of Lake Crescent at Olympic National Park at approximately 6:25pm PT Wednesday, a little more than two weeks after he proposed to fiancée Marlene Junker
Officials had spent days looking for the lost 37-year-old, who reportedly helped push fiancée Marlene Junker to safety after their kayaks overturned on June 9 in this part of the notoriously deep lake, likely saving her life
Search crews notified the family immediately, according to statements from Valenti’s brother, Austin Valenti.
‘It’s kind of the best outcome we could have hoped,’ he told Newsday Thursday, after his wife started an online fundraiser to help pay for search and recovery efforts in northern foothills of the Olympic Mountains.
‘We’re just glad we’ll have him back to give him the proper send off and memorial he deserved.’
Diana Rose, Austin’s husband, updated the GoFundMe she created to thank those who sent money while officials and Good Samaritans searched for Valenti, in a stretch of lake whose maximum depth is a 624 feet – making it the second deepest in all of Washington.
‘This is still a very sensitive and emotionally charged time for his beautiful fiancée, parents, siblings, family and countless friends who care about and love Travis,’ she wrote.
‘Thankfully, Travis will be able to eventually come back home and be laid to eternal rest. This will still require time and logistical coordination. Your kind donations received will be assisting immensely with this endeavor and funeral preparations.’
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Family members had raised more than $63,000 in the days since the fundraiser was posted, enlisting a private search team from Pennsylvania to help search Lake Crescent, which is entirely set in the sprawling national park.
‘We need to be able to find him [and] bring him home,’ the family pleaded in the fundraiser.
The National Park Service added that the remote-operated vehicle it utilized to rescue Valenti – who worked as workplace service specialist at an investment firm in Manhattan – was able to brave the deep and cold waters of Lake Crescent Wednesday.
Following the Ohio Missionaries’ find, a remote-operated vehicle was deployed to retrieved the late Long Islander, who proposed two days before disappearing
His corpse was found at a depth of 394 feet, officials later confirmed – while family members said they were thankful they could finally lay Valenti to rest after a hard two weeks of searching
Austin described his brother has having the ability to ‘light up a room and make anybody laugh,’ who had a ‘beautiful’ relationship. He reportedly took the trip to the Washington park with the intent to propose, before drowning while attempting to keep his future spouse safe
Austin described his brother has having the ability to ‘light up a room and make anybody laugh,’ who had a ‘beautiful’ relationship.
‘He was just everybody’s favorite guy, including Marlene’s and all of ours, they were just a beautiful couple, and they had this beautiful life planned out and it just gets cut so short out of nowhere,’ he told News 12 Long Island.
The National Park Service warns park-goers about ‘sudden immersion’ in Lake Crescent, as the cold water could ‘impact a person’s breathing and over time, their ability to move extremities.’
They advise all swimmers to use the buddy system and to always wear a life jacket.
