A Texas family is mourning the tragic loss of their 29-year-old son, who died while kayaking on Lewisville Lake.
On that fateful evening, Taryn “Taz” Zinszer set out on his kayak, enjoying what would be his last adventure. As the sun set and the waters grew choppy, he made one final, desperate call to his father, Troy Zinszer, around 9 p.m.
“I’m in the middle of the lake and I don’t think I can make it,” Taz told his father. “I’m floating towards the toll bridge, but I don’t think I’m going to make it.”
His last words before the call went dead: “Dad, I’m so sorry.”
Troy Zinszer, who had always been able to rescue his son in times of trouble, could do nothing but pray as the call ended.
As the Zinszer family and law enforcement searched the lake, the Lewisville Fire Department later recovered Taz’s body. He had been wearing a life jacket, but the strong winds and rough waters proved too much that night.
His parents describe Taz as a young man full of life and adventure, with a deep love for family, dirt bikes, and motorcycles.
“I just love him so much, and I miss him so much,” his father said. “I can’t wait to see him again.”
The medical examiner has not yet determined an official cause of death. For now, the Zinszer family finds comfort in their faith and cherished memories of their beloved son.
Earlier this year, off the coast of Chilean Patagonia, 24-year-old kayaker Adrián Simancas was briefly engulfed by a humpback whale while paddling with his father, Dell. The incident, which occurred on February 8, 2025, near the San Isidro Lighthouse in the Strait of Magellan, was captured on video by Dell, who was kayaking nearby. The footage shows the massive whale suddenly surfacing beneath Adrián, swallowing both him and his yellow kayak before quickly expelling them back into the ocean.
Adrián recounted the harrowing experience, saying, “I thought I had been eaten by something… In those three seconds that I was underwater, I thought I was dying.” His father, witnessing the event, feared the worst but was relieved to see Adrián resurface. Fortunately, both men made it back to shore uninjured, though shaken by the rare and terrifying ordeal.
Marine biologists explain that while whale encounters with humans are rare, they do occur, particularly when whales are feeding. Humpback whales, which are filter feeders, consume krill and small fish by lunging forward with their mouths open. Experts suggest that the whale likely mistook the kayak for a school of fish and accidentally scooped it up. “Whales have no intention of eating people,” said Dr. Luis Torres, a marine biologist in Chile. “Their throats are too small to swallow a human, and their instinct is to expel anything that doesn’t belong in their diet.”
