Search &'Rescue teams looking for Wouter Van Lier, last seen early this am on Angel Is. #abc7now #mapit pic.twitter.com/7uV2NbXel7
— Cbarnard (@CornellBarnard) September 8, 2015
A San Francisco man who mysteriously disappeared from his boat during a trip to Angel Island was found dead Tuesday, after a two-day-long search by rescue teams.
42-year-old Wouter Van Lier, his wife, and two family friends had docked their rented boat in Ayala Cove on Angel Island this weekend, the Chron reports.
According to KRON4, the last time Van Lier's wife saw him was 1 a.m. Monday. When she woke up at 6, she told officials, he was gone.
Rescue groups from Marin, San Mateo and Contra Costa counties; a Marin County Sheriff’s Office’ patrol boat and members of their dive team; canine search and rescue teams; a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter; and the Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit all combed the 1.2-square-mile island for signs of Van Lier until sunset Monday, to no avail.
They returned as the sun rose on Tuesday morning, that time to "get to the more inaccessible areas of the island" and cover "a larger water search area,” Tiburon Police spokesperson Laurie Nilsen told KRON4.
Tuesday afternoon, Nilsen says, Van Lier's lifeless body was found floating in Ayala Cove, not far from where his boat had first docked.
UPDATE The body recovered earlier today off Angel Island has been positively identified as missing SF resident Wouter Van Lier, 42yrs old.
— Marin County Sheriff (@MarinSheriff) September 8, 2015
According to his LinkedIn profile, Van Lier ran Candide Consultancy, which focuses "on clean-tech companies that provide compelling, innovative solutions to capitalize on the economic opportunities of sustainability."
He also had a blog entitled "Monkey Sandwich," which sought to "create and curate content which is susceptible to debate and differing opinions."
An active social media user, Van Lier's last tweets were on September 3, when he decried California's water shortage:
1.Water = water
2.Fix (regulatory) absurdities
3.Use water insecurity to create its opposite
— Monkey Sandwich (@mnksndwch) September 3, 2015
Drip irrigation:70% more tomatoes/1k gal water
Water recycling:52 mio gal/dy for use at farms, factories, etc
Desalination:35 mio gal/dy
— Monkey Sandwich (@mnksndwch) September 3, 2015
But also in 2015: Cali residents with dry taps, toilets, showers? Astonishing in the Golden State..
— Monkey Sandwich (@mnksndwch) September 3, 2015
According to the Marin County Sheriff's department, Van Lier's death remains under investigation. But it's unlikely that foul play was a factor, Nilsen says, as “it appears to be a tragic accident.”
Sheriff's Coroners Office investigation continuing as to cause and manner of death of Wouter Van Lier. Findings could take up to 6-8 weeks.
— Marin County Sheriff (@MarinSheriff) September 8, 2015