Secret Service got river level raised for Vance's family kayaking trip

JD Vance's team had the army corps of engineers take the unusual step of changing the outflow of a lake in Ohio to accommodate a recent boating excursion on a family holiday, the Guardian has learned.

- Stephanie Kirchgaessner David Smith

The request from the US Secret Service was made to "support safe navigation" of the US vice-president's security detail for an August outing on the Little Miami River, according to a statement by the US army corps of engineers (USACE).

Vance was spotted in the southwestern Ohio area on 2 August, his 41st birthday, according to social media posts that noted he had been seen canoeing on the river, a tributary of the Ohio River that Caesar Creek Lake feeds into.

Publicly available data from the US Geological Survey (USGS) shows a sudden increase in the river level and corresponding drop in lake elevation during the early August days when Vance was on holiday.

One source, who communicated with the Guardian anonymously, alleged that the outflow request for the Caesar Creek Lake was not just to support the vice-president's Secret Service detail, but also to create "ideal kayaking conditions". The Guardian could not independently confirm this specific claim.