A Tennessee man was rescued behind the curtain of a waterfall early Monday morning in the Kanawha Falls area in Fayette County after a white water rafting expert insisted on helping with the search after it had been called off. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources police said an empty kayak was reported just after 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the Kanawha Falls area. A vehicle was found with a kayak and hauling equipment that belonged to Samuel Davis, of Tennessee. Rescuers were wrapping up their search around 10 p.m.
Corey Lilly is an expert kayaker and saw a post on Facebook about the man missing in Kanawha Falls and drove to the area, and convinced officers to let him and his friends search for Davis because Lilly had an idea where he could be. Eventually, the team heard cries for help from Davis behind the curtain at the crevice under the waterfall and he was rescued.