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A post-mortem will be conducted later this week after the body of a man was found in the Breede River near Swellendam in the Western Cape on Monday.
However, the deceased still needs to be identified by his next of kin, and SAPS could not confirm whether it was that of the missing paddler, 72-year-old Giel van Deventer.
He went missing in the Breede River this weekend while paddling in a K2 with Lodewyk Rabie when they ran into trouble in a tree block close to the race finish outside Swellendam and he disappeared underwater.
SAPS Western Cape said members had to combine a "diving operation with swift-water operators" from the three departments after an eyewitness indicated the place where the K2 tandem canoe was sucked in under a big tree that cause a build-up of rocks and debris.
"During the removal of a thick tree trunk, they spotted the canoe and a life jacket which covered the body of the victim. The body was recovered and taken to the mortuary," SAPS said.
In an earlier statement, Canoeing South Africa said Van Deventer held the record for the most number of finishes in the tough Berg River Canoe Marathon, becoming the first person to earn fifty medals in 2021, and added another finish to his remarkable Berg CV in July this year.
