The bodies of a Lotus band member and his 20-year-old son have been found more than three weeks after they vanished while kayaking on Beaver Lake in Arkansas during a spring break family vacation.
Chuck Morris, 46, the percussionist for the Colorado jam band Lotus, and his son Charlie Morris never returned after going out on the water last month.
On Sunday, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office announced their bodies had been recovered.
Major Kenneth Paul led the search efforts utilizing many resources from across the country – which involved diving 180ft.
Investigators spent 24 days of searching using helicopters, drones, sonar, divers and dogs. Both bodies were recovered over the weekend.
The bodies of Chuck Morris, 46, right, the percussionist for the Colorado jam band Lotus, and his son Charlie Morris, 20, were found on Sunday in a lake where they had gone kayaking
Rescuers 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 on in the search while Chuck’s hat and coat were also found.
It’s believed the pair drowned after one fell into the cold waters of the lake and the other tried to rescue them.
‘What saved me from the beginning of this is that they died together; they were together,’ Chuck’s wife and Charlie’s mom, Jennifer Thompson, told ABC News, adding that she ‘misses her boys’.
The family had decided to travel from Kansas City to Beaver Lake during the Spring Break holidays after Lotus had finished a 25-city tour.
Chuck and Charlie, a sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University who aspired to be a lawyer, decided to go kayaking on the lake, despite there being strong currents and three-foot waves.
Chuck and Charlie, a sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University who aspired to be a lawyer, decided to go kayaking on the lake, despite there being strong currents and three-foot waves
Investigators spent more than three weeks scouring Beaver Lake and the surrounding area using helicopters, drones, sonar and dogs. The father and son’s bodies were found on Sunday
Chuck Morris of Lotus performs on stage in 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 into town.
But when Thompson and her daughter returned, the father and son were not at the home 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 began to panic and went searching for the pair.
Chuck Morris of Lotus is seen performing on stage in Okeechobee, Florida in 2016
Chuck Morris, Mike Greenfield, Mike Rempel, Jesse Miller and Luke Miller of Lotus perform at The Fillmore in San Francisco, California in April 2012
Unable to find them, she 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 by the love from around the world for Chuck and Charley, and we will celebrate their lives and contributions to the world in gatherings that will be announced in coming days and weeks.’
‘Chuck was fun and creative and funny, and Charlie was pensive and serious and very much believed in the responsibility of people to be good.’
A GoFundMe page has been set up and has raised over $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 with two other dates planned on May 5 at XL Live in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and May 6 at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.
