Local runner dies in Connecticut kayak accident

Thomas Casey, who over the course of a few summers in Juneau became an integral, much-admired and much-loved part of the local running community, is presumed drowned after failing to return from a kayak trip off the Connecticut shore.

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Casey, 35, was a graduate student and teaching assistant in political science at Yale University. He disappeared Friday while kayaking along the coast of Long Island Sound. His kayak, paddle and backpack were recovered over the weekend, and the official search operation has evolved from a rescue mission to a recovery operation, according to Connecticut State Police.

"We were out there Saturday and Sunday, and suspended the search Monday afternoon due to rough seas and weather conditions," Sgt. J. Paul Vance said this morning.

"The search will resume if and when weather conditions permit," Vance said, and crews were out again today using side-scan sonar to search the floor of the sound.

Mike "Dodge" Haney of Richmond, Va., a longtime friend of Casey's, said Casey was an avid kayaker and was making a familiar trip - paddling to a local cafe and planning to run from there back home. He never arrived at the cafe.

"He left in the morning, and when his girlfriend showed up at his place in the evening he wasn't there," he said.

Four- to six-foot swells were reported in the area at the time Casey disappeared.

"(The conditions) were rough," Coast Guard Petty Officer Scott Steinbarger told the Yale Daily News. "It depends on the ability of the kayaker. The water was pretty choppy."

Vance said search crews will make the determination of how long the recovery effort will continue.

Casey first traveled to Juneau in the summer of 1998 on an externship program while working for the Environmental Protection Agency, Haney said. After that first summer, he was hooked.

Haney met Casey in the mid-1980s when they were freshmen at the University of Pennsylvania. He traveled to Juneau several times over the years to visit Casey, and ran with him on a Klondike Road Relay team in September. In the Frank Maier half-marathon last August, Haney and Casey tied for first place.

Haney said Casey was unable to spend the summer of 1999 in Juneau. When he returned as a graduate student in 2000, it was on his own terms, to spend time in a community he had come to love.

"He really liked the place, the great running community," Haney said. "Because he was a grad student, he had to study in the summer, so why not study in a beautiful place? He enjoyed coming back to Juneau each year."

Ben Collman and Michele Drummond, who rented an apartment to Casey the last three years, said he worked on some freelance projects over the summer related to his academic work. But for the most part, they said, he had two driving forces during the summer months - running and studying.

"I used to tease him about all the library books he checked out" from Yale and brought to Juneau for the summer, Drummond said.

Casey was a regular at the Silverbow during the summer months, and was a fixture on area trails and at Southeast Road Runners' races.

"Everybody considered him a local," said Don Eagle of Juneau, who frequently ran with Casey. Eagle, Casey and Haney were all members of the Darwin's Tribe team at the Klondike Road Relay.

Casey was devoted to running, and frequented Perseverance Trail and other routes in the mountains. Eagle and Dave Pusich, another Juneau runner who spent time on the trails with Casey, said it's hard to think of a hike around Juneau that does not have a memory of Casey attached to it.

"He always found a way to fit a run into his day," Pusich said.

Eagle and Pusich said Casey was a sprinter and short-distance runner in his college days, and maintained his athletic ability through the years.

"Even slowed down, he still beat almost everybody in town," Eagle said.

"He had some mojo as far as the speed went," Pusich said.

Beyond running, Casey was "incredibly intelligent," Eagle said, and a great person to converse with.

"You couldn't put a label on him," Eagle said. "He just did things differently than anyone I ever met and he thought differently than anyone I ever met."

Eagle said he is sure Casey could have accumulated prestige and riches in his field if he so desired. The fact that he continued his studies and lived life as he wanted to "says a lot about his character," Eagle said.

Those who knew Casey remember him as quick to make friends and to make himself a part of the community. Haney called him a "connector" of people; Drummond and Collman said when they first met Casey, they thought he had been in Juneau for years.

"He's definitely going to be missed," Drummond said. "It was great to have him around. He was a good guy, a dependable, loyal friend."

"He always wanted to do his part," Collman said.

Haney said there will likely be some kind of memorial for Casey in Juneau, though arrangements have yet to be made.

Andrew Krueger can be reached at akrueger@juneauempire.com.