A PENSIONER drowned himself in a shallow river in Bontnewydd, an inquest heard.
The hearing in Caernarfon heard that John Gareth Lee, 73, of Glan yr Afon in Caernarfon, was found face down in the River Gwirfai in Bontnewydd by kayaker Kevin Tidbury.
Pathologist Dr Mark Lord's post mortem revealed superficial bruising on Mr Lee's body
However, he said that this would not suggest that Mr Lee had fallen, and recommended that the cause of death was drowning.
Recording a verdict of suicide, North West Wales coroner Dewi Pritchard Jones said: “He could have waked out of the river, but he did not.
“This gives me the impression that he had gone into the river with the intent of drowning himself.”