Missing boaters

[Neighbor_guy]

Please respect the big lake....

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/region/3855715-search-goes-missing-boaters-lake-woods-webpage-launched-aid-families

By Sarah Volpenhein on Oct 7, 2015 at 10:03 a.m.

OAK ISLAND, Minn.--The search continues for three men who went missing after their boat capsized on the Lake of the Woods over the weekend, while community members raise money to support the families awaiting news near the lake.

The boaters -- Keith Ryan Ayers, 28, Cody Joseph Ostendorf, 24, and Justin Kelly Haugtvedt, 22, all of Baudette, Minn. -- were last seen Friday night leaving Oak Island, at the north end of Minnesota’s portion of the lake, and were reported missing Saturday afternoon, shortly before their capsized boat was found near Flag Island, which is just west of Oak Island.

The Lake of the Woods County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Border Patrol and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have been searching for the men near Flag and Oak islands since Saturday, but to no avail as of Tuesday.

On Monday, the Water Patrol Division of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office sent two deputies to join the search, according to the office's spokeswoman Rebecca Gilbuena.

The Hennepin County deputies were expected to bring more sophisticated sonar equipment to aid in search and rescue efforts Tuesday.

While officials have not permitted the men's family members to aid in the search, they have gathered in Baudette, which is about 10 miles south of Lake of the Woods. As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, donors had poured more than $10,000 into the GoFundMe account, which was launched Monday night.

"Donations will help all the families with their expenses at this time," according to the GoFundMe page.

Joe Cooper, a fishing guide, discovered the three men's 16-foot Lund boat capsized around 3:30 p.m. Saturday near the northeast corner of Flag Island, with a gas can floating on the water and three life jackets underneath the boat, he wrote in an email.

The men had last been seen at about 11:30 p.m. Friday leaving Sunset Lodge on the west side of Oak Island, according to the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff's Office. Weather conditions were clear and breezy near Flag Island Friday, with gusts reaching up to 35 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

But Cooper wrote that the direction of the wind could have resulted in rough waters Friday night.

"The direction of the wind that night would make the bay near Sunset Lodge calm," he wrote. "But the main water outside of the bay would be very rough. In the dark, approaching the rough water without being able to see the waves leaves you unprepared to strike a wave with the boat."

Cooper works in the Northwest Angle, just west of Flag and Oak islands, and said he has been out on the lake in similar weather conditions and in boats similar to the missing men's vessel.

The official cause of the accident has not been determined.

 

 

[BringAnExtension]

Prayers going out to the boaters and their families.