DENVER — The bodies of a missing Denver band member and his son were recovered from a lake in Arkansas over the weekend after the duo went out kayaking.
On March 16, Charles "Chuck" Morris IV, 47, and his son Charles "Charley" Morris V, 20, were reported missing after kayaking on Beaver Lake near Fayetteville, Arkansas, according to the Benton County Sheriff's Office.
Chuck Morris was the electronic and acoustic percussionist for Lotus, a five-piece band partially based in Denver that, for eight years, has been creating "electronic dance music with instrumental post-rock," according to its website.
They had started kayaking on Beaver Lake in Benton County around 11 a.m. with plans to return by 2 p.m. Chuck Morris' wife began to worry once they weren't home by 4 p.m. and called the sheriff's office.
Storms had started to move through the area, causing wind gusts up to 35 mph. According to a GoFundMe created to support the family, "the weather and other elements created a perfect storm on the lake, and in the lake, that was unsurvivable."
Deputies began to search Beaver Lake and located two kayaks and a jacket.
The efforts were scaled back on March 22, though they continued to work to recover the two men.
After 24 days, on April 9, rescuers found both of their bodies and were able to recover them. Charley Morris' body was found first, and the sheriff's office told the family it believed the cause of death was drowning. Later the same day, Chuck Morris' body was located.
Members of the band said Lotus has been around for more than 20 years in some kind of fashion. They said Chuck had been a part of the band since the early years.
Luke Miller, who plays the keyboard and guitar, described Chuck as gregarious, goofy and adventurous.
“Always kind of smiling and unpredictable. You never knew what he was gonna say," Luke said about Chuck.
Luke said he lived with Chuck when his son, Charley, was born. He said Charley was just starting college, and was a sweet and thoughtful person.
"I feel like just that combination of losing them both at the same time makes it super hard," said Luke. "Kind of an unfathomable accident. You don't really know how to process it.”
The bassist of Lotus, Jesse Miller, said they plan on honoring Chuck through music, since that's how he impacted so many people.
“There will be some tears, but we also want it to be a joyful experience, because I feel like that's how Chuck experienced life and music," said Jesse.
Lotus will have multiple benefit concerts in Denver, Pennsylvania and New York, with 100% of net proceeds from these special shows going directly to the Morris family. Those dates are:
- April 21, Fillmore Auditorium in Denver
- April 22, Fillmore Auditorium in Denver
- May 5, XL Live in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- May 6, the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York
Click here for ticket information.
