Frostburg State University Robert Norr, 20, a Darnestown resident and Frostburg State University junior, died in a kayaking accident in West Virginia on Sunday.

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A 20-year-old Darnestown man died Sunday in a kayaking accident on the Blackwater River in West Virginia.

Robert A. Norr was kayaking with a group of five other people about noon Sunday when his kayak went nose-down in an area known as Flatliner Falls, said Hoy Murphy, a spokesman with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.

“The other kayakers attempted to pull him to the surface, but were unable to do so,” Murphy said.

They called rescuers, who were unable to reach Norr until Monday morning, Murphy said. His body has been sent to the West Virginia State Medical Examiner’s Office.

Norr was a junior at Frostburg State University majoring in Recreation and Parks Management with a concentration in therapeutic recreation, according to the university. He was also a member of the school’s swim team.

“It breaks my heart to have to inform you that one of our students, Robert Norr, died in a kayaking accident over the weekend while in West Virginia,” University President Jonathan Gibralter wrote in an email to university students Monday afternoon. “Our hearts go out to his family and friends, and they will be in our thoughts and prayers.”

University spokeswoman Liz Medcalf said she did not know if Norr was with other Frostburg State students on the kayaking trip.

The school has arranged counseling services for students, Medcalf said.

Norr was a member of the Darnestown swim team since he was 5 years old and coached the team for the past three summers, according to the organization’s website.

He was a captain of the Northwest High School Jaguars swim team for two years and earned seven varsity letters during his high school career in swimming, lacrosse, tennis and cross country, according to a Frostburg State media guide. Norr was on the honor roll in high school and a member of the National Honor Society, according to the guide.

His parents could not be reached by phone Tuesday.

dgaines@gazette.net