Tali’s torment as body pulled from Hudson
Boyfriend disappeared in kayak horror
POLICE searching for the missing boyfriend of Tali Lennox, daughter of Scottish singer Annie, have recovered a body. Miss Lennox had been on a desperate riverside vigil f or photographer Ian Jones, who went missing when the kayak they were paddling capsized in a tragic accident.
Miss Lennox, youngest daughter of the former Eurythmics singer, had refused to leave the spot where he vanished at the weekend.
The former model was said to have been ‘clinging to hope’ that he would be found alive.
However, police confirmed they had recovered a body from the fastflowing Hudson River in upstate New York.
It was found close to where the couple had been kayaking.
Authorities have still to confirm if the body is that of Mr Jones, 32, but said yesterday they feared he had drowned.
Officers familiar with the often treacherous waters had doubted he could have survived.
Rescue teams resumed their search yesterday morning amid fears that Mr Jones could have been carried miles downstream by strong currents.
Captain John Watterson, of Dutchess County Sheriff ’s Office, said the search had resumed at first light.
He added: ‘There are patrols on the river as well as teams combing the shoreline but there has been nothing, so far.
‘ We have a full dive team on standby as well, should they be required.’
As the search continued, the 22- year- old artist cut a forlorn figure as she stood at the side of the river.
Last night a spokesman for Miss Lennox’s mother declined to comment on the accident.
The couple were thrown into the water when their tandem kayak capsized on Saturday morning. They
‘Dangerous and hard to swim in’
had gone out paddling after a night at a party with friends near the town of Staatsburg, about 100 miles from New York City.
Police said the fast-flowing water and alcohol might have played a factor in the accident.
Miss Lennox clung to the upturned kayak for 20 minutes before being rescued by a passing boat, but her boyfriend was swept away.
It is understood that the strong current had prevented the couple from trying to swim to the shore 300ft away. Neither of the pair had been wearing a lifejacket.
Captain Watterson said that when Miss Lennox was interviewed after her rescue, it was noted that she been drinking prior to the accident.
However, she was not required to take a breathalyser test. He added: ‘When officers spoke with Miss Lennox they determined that she was under the influence of alcohol.
‘She was cooperative with officers and obviously distraught over the situation.’
He said Miss Lennox had chosen to remain in Dutchess County to wait for any news in the search for her boyfriend.
Divers and a helicopter had been involved in the hunt, which was concentrated in an area of one mile by 500 yards where he was last seen.
Captain Watterson said: ‘If they had been wearing a life preserver we could be looking at an entirely different situation.
‘People underestimate the current in the river and think it is like going into a swimming pool.
‘It is very dangerous and hard to swim in.’
Miss Lennox and her boyfriend live in New York, where the former model has forged a new career as a portrait artist.
The pair had attended a private gathering on Friday night and stayed over at a bed and breakfast.
They took the kayak from the residence rather than hiring one from one of the several boating business in the area where those hiring kayaks are required to wear lifejackets if they are going out on the water.