Man drowns in Jordan Lake after falling out of canoe

A 21-year-old man drowned Sunday after he fell out of a canoe on Jordan Lake.

Three men were on the water in a canoe on Jordan Lake, near Parkers Creek Campground. They overturned in the canoe, and in an effort to get the canoe right side up, Gilles OscarYayo, 21, of Durham, went underwater and never resurfaced.

Investigators say none of the men in the boat were wearing a life vest. Yayo's body was recovered around 6:15 p.m.

Katie Hall, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Parks and Recreation, said Yayo had been at the Parkers Creek beach with family members.

Yayo, who went by Oscar, was a 2020 Jordan High School graduate and his family came to the U.S. in 2017 as refugees from the Central African Republic, according to Church World Service, a refugee resettlement agency in Durham.

Yayo was working as a mechanic at Mark Jacobson Toyota.

Sgt. Nathan Green of the state Wildlife Resources Division emphasized the importance of wearing life jackets when on the water.

"It's an unfortunate incident that could possibly have been avoided if they had been wearing personal flotation devices," Green said.

This is the second drowning in a Triangle-area lake in a week.

On Easter Sunday, 19-year-old Amir Crawford drowned at Falls Lake. Witnesses say he was swimming in a rocky area of the lake when he went under.

One of his friends tried to rescue him, but wasn't successful.