An NYC kayaker got stranded on a remote island in Queens and signaled for help using fire and sticks

• The NYPD's aviation unit rescued a kayaker who got stranded on an island in Jamaica Bay, Queens.
• Authorities posted a video on Twitter showing the man waving his arms next to the word "HELP" written in what appeared to be large bundles of sticks.
• The NYPD said the kayaker took "social distancing to the next level."
• The man was uninjured, but was missing for 12 hours before signaling for help by starting a fire, police said.
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The New York Police Department said officers rescued a kayaker who took "social distancing to the next level," stranding himself on a remote island in Jamaica Bay, Queens.

The man was missing for more than 12 hours before the NYPD's aviation unit rescued him. He was uninjured.

"The male signaled for help by starting a fire & spelling out help using nearby sticks before being found," the NYPD's special operations division tweeted.

 

The NYPD tweeted a video taken from a helicopter that showed the man walking across an empty beach, with the word "HELP" written across the sand in what appeared to be large bundles of sticks.

The man could be seen in the footage waving his arms at the rescuers and approaching a landed helicopter.

It's unclear where exactly in Jamaica Bay the man was stranded, or how he ended up on the island. Jamaica Bay is comprised of "numerous islands, a labyrinth of waterways, meadowlands, and two freshwater ponds" just off the coasts of Brooklyn and Queens, according to the National Park Service.

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