Kayaker who died during incident in Acme Lake, Mt. Pleasant Township, identified

A Hempfield man died Wednesday during a kayaking incident at Acme Dam Lake.

Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson identified the victim as David Dirado, 67.

Carson said in a brief statement that Dirado with friends and family when “it appeared he fell out of his kayak into the water.” He went under the water and never emerged.

Carson said Dirado was not wearing a life vest.

Cause and manner of death are pending autopsy and toxicology test results, the coroner said.

Water rescue and dive teams recovered the victim’s body from the lake, which is in Mt. Pleasant Township’s Chestnut Ridge Park.

Units were dispatched to the area of Acme Dam and County Line roads shortly after 1 p.m., when the capsize was reported, according to a Westmoreland County 911 supervisor.

Kecksburg VFD Chief Adam Krozel said an older man, later identified as Dirado, and woman were kayaking when the watercraft tipped over. Krozel said a neighbor went into the water, swimming across the lake to try to reach the man, but could not locate him.

The woman in the kayak made it safely to shore, Krozel said.

A Waterways Conservation officer said search crews located Dirado’s body shortly after 4 p.m.

Crews from Kecksburg, Chestnut Ridge, Mt. Pleasant, Scottdale, Murrysville, Greensburg, Westmoreland Park Police and Waterways Conservation were on site aiding in the search, according to county parks and recreation Director Mark Katarski.

“We’ve just had incredible cooperation from everyone, from the park police to the local volunteer fire departments, with their willingness to do what they can to help,” he said.

Krozel said this is the first time in his 30 years as chief that this type of incident has occurred at the lake.

Dive teams from Murrysville and Scottdale are searching Acme Lake in Westmoreland County’s Chestnut Ridge Park for a man whose kayak capsized earlier this afternoon. The call came in to 911 around 1 p.m.

A woman who was also in the kayak made it safely to shore.@TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/l9OR6g5q0E

— Quincey Reese (@QuinceyReese) September 17, 2025

At about 3:30 p.m., search crews deployed a drone to search for the missing kayaker.

Emergency units have deployed a drone to search for a man in Acme Lake.

Kecksburg, Mt. Pleasant and Chestnut Ridge VFDs; Scottdale, Murrysville and Greensburg dive teams; Waterways Conservation; and Westmoreland County Parks Police are assisting in the search.@TribLIVE pic.twitter.com/80ZLcBwF2e

— Quincey Reese (@QuinceyReese) September 17, 2025