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King County Sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said the body of the kayaker, a 45-year-old Seattle man, was discovered Friday afternoon.

But rescue crews could not retrieve him because the Green River remains too swift, too high and too cold, Urquhart said.

"We have to wait until it's safe to get him," he said.

The man's body is apparently pinned in the water by river debris.

The missing man was kayaking near Kanasket Palmer State Park on May 17 when both he and his kayak submerged and did not reappear.

At the time, the Puget Sound region was experienced record-setting heat, prompting a snow melt that had area rivers running higher and faster than normal.

On the same day that the kayaker was last seen, a 34-year-old Federal Way man also disappeared on the Green River after the raft he was riding flipped over. That man has not yet been found.

Swift-water rescue crews were kept busy that weekend, pulling several people from the fast moving rivers after they got into trouble.

This weekend, both the Green River and Cedar River remain closed to recreational use and Urquhart said they are likely to stay closed through the Memorial Day weekend.

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