Missing Windsurfer Presumed To Have Drowned

Rangers are searching for a 39-year-old North Las Vegas man named Erus Matanguihan, who was last seen windsurfing without a lifejacket at 5:30 p.m. on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 19th. Matanguihan was windsurfing in extremely high wind conditions, with gusts of up to 40 mph, near the Boulder Islands. Witnesses on the beach saw the windsurfer go down near the islands at about 5:30 p.m. and never saw him again.  This area is in the Boulder Basin on the Nevada side of Lake Mead. Rangers immediately began a search for Matanguihan, dispatching two boats to the area. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Search and Rescue (Metro) helicopter was called in to assist. Matanguihan’s windsurfer was located at about 7 p.m. in between Sentinel and Saddle Islands, but there was no sign of him. The search was suspended for the night, then resumed the following morning. Rangers on three boats searched the water and an NPS fire crew searched the shoreline. Metro’s helicopter again assisted with the search effort. The presumption is that Matanguihan drowned.