WOODLAND, Wash. -- The body of a missing canoeist from Clark County was pulled from the Lewis River in Woodland just before 10 a.m., according to eyewitnesses.

Searchers had been scouring the river and its banks, in the Woodland area, after Michael Peterson, 23, was reported missing on Sunday night.

Peterson's family was there when his body was pulled from the river.

The Vancouver, Wash. man had been canoeing with a 28 year old friend when their boat capsized, according to Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office.

Neither was wearing life vests.

Erica Heartquist/KGW-TV

Cowlitz Co. and Clark Co. rescue boats scoured the Lewis River in Woodland for a missing canoeist.

The 28 year old was able to swim safely to shore, alert a neighbor and call 9-1-1 but Peterson had disappeared, according to Undersheriff Duane Engler.

A comprehensive search began around 11:30 p.m. and within two hours boats from Cowlitz and Clark counties, along with a Coast Guard helicopter, were scouring the river for Peterson, Engler said.

"Infrared thermal imaging cameras were used to scan the river and the banks of the river," Engler said in a press release.