KAW LAKE, Okla., Jan. 4 (UPI) — Craig Strickland was found dead Monday, eight days after being reported missing.
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokesperson told E! News authorities recovered the 29-year-old Backroad Anthem singer’s body and notified his family.
Strickland and friend Chase Morland were hunting duck on Kaw Lake, Okla., last week when their boat capsized during Winter Storm Goliath. Morland’s body and Strickland’s dog Sam were found, but the singer was unaccounted for until now.
“In case we don’t come back, @BackroadCRAIG and I are going right through Winter Storm Goliath to kill ducks in Oklahoma. #IntoTheStorm,” Morland had tweeted, foreshadowing the events to come.
Strickland’s wife, Helen Strickland, thanked authorities and the 4 State Search and Rescue Team for their efforts Sunday, saying the group’s “acts of kindness and generosity gave [her] family continued hope.” She confirmed the singer was found dead Monday on Twitter.
“#CraigStrickland was found today,” she wrote. “He is safe with his Father in Heaven. Thank you Lord for leading us to him today. I will praise you, Amen.”
Strickland and his wife, who won Miss Arkansas in 2014, married in fall 2014. The singer was the frontman for Backroad Anthem, and last released the EP Torn with the band in September.