Travis Valenti and fiancée.Photo:Courtesy of Austin ValentiA New York man is presumed dead after he went missing while kayaking just days after he proposed to his longtime girlfriend. Now, his family just wants to bring him home.Travis Valenti, 37, was kayaking with his new fiancée at Lake Crescent at Olympia State Park on June 9 when his kayak began taking on water, according to apress releasefrom the National Parks Service (NPS).Austin Valenti tells PEOPLE that his brother had proposed to his then-girlfriend Marlene shortly after they arrived in Seattle for a pre-planned vacation that Wednesday.Two days later, Travis and Marlene were out kayaking when Travis’ boat began to sink.Travis’ fiancée attempted to help him out of the water after the Massapequa man abandoned his kayak, according to the NPS. She, too, entered the water after her kayak flipped over mid-rescue but was able to swim to shore.“My brother had given her a little extra push and Marlene got out safe," Austin tells PEOPLE. “My brother is still out there somewhere.“As of Friday, Travis’ body has not been found. “Everybody that knows him is devastated,” Austin says. “It’s just unimaginable how something so horrible can happen to somebody so great.”Travis Valenti and fiancée.Courtesy of Austin ValentiNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Austin claims NPS rangers informed Travis’ family that they didn’t have the proper equipment to make the rescue, so Austin took it upon himself to do just that. “I’ve gathered any and every resource that we would need to get out there and start finding my brother,” he explains.Loved ones started aGoFundMe campaign, in part, to raise funds to have professionals search for, and hopefully recover, Travis’ body.Travis Valenti and loved ones.Courtesy of Austin ValentiHowever, Austin says NPS rangers have yet to release permits to the foundations and companies that have been hired. He claims that he has called the rangers “tirelessly” and “left countless messages” for them, but has not received a response.The NPS did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.Austin says the support his family has received since Travis’ disappearance “has been great,” and that GoFundMe donations have “exceeded” the family’s expectations. (More than $47,000 has been raised as of Friday afternoon.“It’s going to help more than anybody can even realize when we can deploy these people,” Austin says.Travis Valenti and fiancée.Courtesy of Austin ValentiFunds raised via the GoFundMe campaign are also being used to help Marlene stay in the home that she and Travis built together.Travis and Marlene had known each other for more than a decade, and were together for six years before he popped the question, Austin says.“I would just like everybody to know that he was just the most amazing, genuine, loving human being that you could ever imagine meeting,” Austin says. “If anybody ever met him, they loved him. He was everybody’s favorite guy.”Despite the delay with recovery, Austin remains focused on bringing his brother back home so his family can “honor him in a proper way.”Austin tells PEOPLE that he’s spoken on the phone with countless resources, including the offices of New York governor Kathy Hochul and Washington governor Jay Inslee.“I will not rest until my brother is home,” he says.
Travis Valenti and fiancée.Photo:Courtesy of Austin Valenti
Courtesy of Austin Valenti
A New York man is presumed dead after he went missing while kayaking just days after he proposed to his longtime girlfriend. Now, his family just wants to bring him home.Travis Valenti, 37, was kayaking with his new fiancée at Lake Crescent at Olympia State Park on June 9 when his kayak began taking on water, according to apress releasefrom the National Parks Service (NPS).Austin Valenti tells PEOPLE that his brother had proposed to his then-girlfriend Marlene shortly after they arrived in Seattle for a pre-planned vacation that Wednesday.Two days later, Travis and Marlene were out kayaking when Travis’ boat began to sink.Travis’ fiancée attempted to help him out of the water after the Massapequa man abandoned his kayak, according to the NPS. She, too, entered the water after her kayak flipped over mid-rescue but was able to swim to shore.“My brother had given her a little extra push and Marlene got out safe,” Austin tells PEOPLE. “My brother is still out there somewhere.“As of Friday, Travis’ body has not been found. “Everybody that knows him is devastated,” Austin says. “It’s just unimaginable how something so horrible can happen to somebody so great.”Travis Valenti and fiancée.Courtesy of Austin ValentiNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Austin claims NPS rangers informed Travis’ family that they didn’t have the proper equipment to make the rescue, so Austin took it upon himself to do just that. “I’ve gathered any and every resource that we would need to get out there and start finding my brother,” he explains.Loved ones started aGoFundMe campaign, in part, to raise funds to have professionals search for, and hopefully recover, Travis’ body.Travis Valenti and loved ones.Courtesy of Austin ValentiHowever, Austin says NPS rangers have yet to release permits to the foundations and companies that have been hired. He claims that he has called the rangers “tirelessly” and “left countless messages” for them, but has not received a response.The NPS did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.Austin says the support his family has received since Travis’ disappearance “has been great,” and that GoFundMe donations have “exceeded” the family’s expectations. (More than $47,000 has been raised as of Friday afternoon.“It’s going to help more than anybody can even realize when we can deploy these people,” Austin says.Travis Valenti and fiancée.Courtesy of Austin ValentiFunds raised via the GoFundMe campaign are also being used to help Marlene stay in the home that she and Travis built together.Travis and Marlene had known each other for more than a decade, and were together for six years before he popped the question, Austin says.“I would just like everybody to know that he was just the most amazing, genuine, loving human being that you could ever imagine meeting,” Austin says. “If anybody ever met him, they loved him. He was everybody’s favorite guy.”Despite the delay with recovery, Austin remains focused on bringing his brother back home so his family can “honor him in a proper way.”Austin tells PEOPLE that he’s spoken on the phone with countless resources, including the offices of New York governor Kathy Hochul and Washington governor Jay Inslee.“I will not rest until my brother is home,” he says.
A New York man is presumed dead after he went missing while kayaking just days after he proposed to his longtime girlfriend. Now, his family just wants to bring him home.
Travis Valenti, 37, was kayaking with his new fiancée at Lake Crescent at Olympia State Park on June 9 when his kayak began taking on water, according to apress releasefrom the National Parks Service (NPS).
Austin Valenti tells PEOPLE that his brother had proposed to his then-girlfriend Marlene shortly after they arrived in Seattle for a pre-planned vacation that Wednesday.
Two days later, Travis and Marlene were out kayaking when Travis’ boat began to sink.
Travis’ fiancée attempted to help him out of the water after the Massapequa man abandoned his kayak, according to the NPS. She, too, entered the water after her kayak flipped over mid-rescue but was able to swim to shore.
“My brother had given her a little extra push and Marlene got out safe,” Austin tells PEOPLE. “My brother is still out there somewhere.”
As of Friday, Travis’ body has not been found. “Everybody that knows him is devastated,” Austin says. “It’s just unimaginable how something so horrible can happen to somebody so great.”
Travis Valenti and fiancée.Courtesy of Austin Valenti
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Austin claims NPS rangers informed Travis’ family that they didn’t have the proper equipment to make the rescue, so Austin took it upon himself to do just that. “I’ve gathered any and every resource that we would need to get out there and start finding my brother,” he explains.
Loved ones started aGoFundMe campaign, in part, to raise funds to have professionals search for, and hopefully recover, Travis’ body.
Travis Valenti and loved ones.Courtesy of Austin Valenti
However, Austin says NPS rangers have yet to release permits to the foundations and companies that have been hired. He claims that he has called the rangers “tirelessly” and “left countless messages” for them, but has not received a response.
The NPS did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Austin says the support his family has received since Travis’ disappearance “has been great,” and that GoFundMe donations have “exceeded” the family’s expectations. (More than $47,000 has been raised as of Friday afternoon.
“It’s going to help more than anybody can even realize when we can deploy these people,” Austin says.
Funds raised via the GoFundMe campaign are also being used to help Marlene stay in the home that she and Travis built together.
Travis and Marlene had known each other for more than a decade, and were together for six years before he popped the question, Austin says.
“I would just like everybody to know that he was just the most amazing, genuine, loving human being that you could ever imagine meeting,” Austin says. “If anybody ever met him, they loved him. He was everybody’s favorite guy.”
Despite the delay with recovery, Austin remains focused on bringing his brother back home so his family can “honor him in a proper way.”
Austin tells PEOPLE that he’s spoken on the phone with countless resources, including the offices of New York governor Kathy Hochul and Washington governor Jay Inslee.
“I will not rest until my brother is home,” he says.
source: people.com
