KINGSTON —Authorities located a man and woman on an island in the Powwow River Wednesday morning after their canoe began filling with water and prompted a night-long search by air, land and water.

The search began after police found an abandoned 2002 Nissan Altima parked along Smallpox Road around 9 p.m., police chief Donald Briggs Jr. said.

During their investigation, police learned that Justin Leighton, 33, of Sandown had parked the vehicle there and went out onto the Powwow River in a canoe with a friend, Andrea Runkel, 31, of Londonderry, and a dog.

At some point, Leighton called his mother on his cellphone and told her that the canoe was taking on water and that they had paddled to an island on the river to try to fix the leak.

Briggs said Leighton’s cellphone then died, which cut off contact with his mother.

Concerned about their safety, authorities launched a search that included police, firefighters, Fish and Game officers, and a state police helicopter.

“We went out to make sure their canoe hadn’t gone down,” said Fish and Game Conservation Officer Chris McKee.

Police spotted a small fire from the helicopter on an island along the Powwow River between New Boston Road and Country Pond and dispatched McKee, who took a boat out and located the pair and their dog around 4:30 a.m.

“We went out there and luckily we were able to find them. They were out there in a tent and had a nice little campfire going,” McKee said.

Authorities said the two weren’t aware of the search that was under way throughout the night. They had camping gear on the island and planned to stay there for the night before the canoe developed a hole.

They planned to patch up the canoe as soon as the sun came up and leave the island, McKee said.

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