Three men missing on LOW

[Lee Borgersen]

  .........Three men missing on Lake of the Woods:


 Search underway after boat is found capsized
 
Oct 4, 2015 at 9:05 p.m.









  ...........
BAUDETTE - Authorities in Lake of the Woods County are searching for three men whose boat was found capsized on the lake Saturday.


According to a statement from Sheriff Gary Fish, the men are Keith Ryan Ayers, 28, Cody Joseph Ostendorf, 24, and Justin Kelly Haugtvedt, 22, all of Baudette, Minn.

 


They were last seen around 11:30 p.m. Friday leaving Sunset Resort on Oak Island, near the international border on the north side of the lake. Their 16-foot Lund boat was found capsized around 3:30 p.m. Saturday on the northeast corner of nearby Flag Island.

Oak Island is east of the of Minnesota's Northwest Angle and more than 20 miles north of Long Point on the lake's southern shore.


The Lake of the Woods County Sheriff's Office along with the Border Patrol and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have been conducting an air, ground and water search for the men around Flag and Oak islands, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Weather conditions were clear and breezy near Flag Island Friday, with gusts up to 35 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Overnight temperatures on Flag Island dipped into the mid-40s Friday and Saturday night, reaching 46 degrees early Saturday and 45 degrees Sunday morning, the weather service observed.

Two men died and a third was hospitalized in September 2013 when a faulty boat engine poisoned them with carbon monoxide while boating on the lake.

[Lee Borgersen]

          ....Update

Crews come up empty in search missing Lake of the Woods boaters.
 
Today at 8:49 p.m.







  .....
BAUDETTE, Minn. — Authorities did not make any headway Monday in the search for three missing men whose boat was found capsized Saturday on Lake of the Woods.

 



The missing men are Keith Ryan Ayers, 28, Cody Joseph Ostendorf, 24, and Justin Kelly Haugtvedt, 22, all of Baudette, Minn., according to the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s Office.

The men were still missing Monday evening, despite search and rescue efforts by multiple agencies that picked up at about 8 a.m. Monday and were slated to go until dark, Sheriff Gary Fish said.

The Lake of the Woods County Sheriff’s Office along with the U.S. Border Patrol and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have been conducting an air, ground and water search for the men around Flag and Oak islands, according to the Sheriff’s Office.


The men were last seen around 11:30 p.m. Friday leaving Sunset Resort on Oak Island, near the international border on the north side of the lake. Weather conditions were clear and breezy near Flag Island Friday, with gusts up to 35 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

A guide discovered the men’s 16-foot Lund boat capsized around 3:30 p.m. Saturday near the northeast corner of nearby Flag Island, with the boaters nowhere to be found and three life jackets underneath the boat, according to Fish.

[glenn57]

always sad to hear!!!!

[Lee Borgersen]

  .....Second body recovered in search for missing Lake of the Woods boaters.

Oct 11, 2015

 OAK ISLAND, Minn. — A second body was recovered in the search for three missing boaters in Lake of the Woods Sunday morning.
Cody Ostendorf, 24, was recovered at approximately 9:30 a.m. by the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff's Department and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. A local resident of Flag Island discovered the body at the northeast corner of the island.

Searchers found Justin Kelly Haugtvedt, 22, in about 14 feet of water in the southwest area of Oak Island Friday night.
Both bodies will be transported to the UND Medical Examiner's Office in Grand Forks.

The Sheriff's Office said it is continuing to search for the third missing boater, Keith Ayers, 28.

Haugtvedt, Ostendorf and Ayers were reported missing after their 16-foot Lund boat was found capsized Oct. 3 on the northeast corner of Flag Island. The men, all of Baudette, Minn., were last seen leaving Sunset Resort on Oak Island at 12:10 a.m. Oct. 3, according to surveillance video. Oak Island is east of Minnesota's Northwest Angle and more than 20 miles north of Long Point on the lake's southern shore.

A GoFundMe page has been launched to assist family members of the three men, according to Retina LaValla, who started the page. She said the goal is to raise $30,000.

About 100 people showed up at Zippel Bay State Park on the lake's south shore Friday night for a vigil.

"People came from all over," LaValla said. "It was very quiet. There were lots of tears shed."

On Thursday, a shoe belonging to Ayers was found on the shore of Oak Island.

Discovery of Haugtvedt and Ostendorf came after crews searched through land, air and water.

Ostendorf grew up in the Twin Cities, while Haugtvedt is originally from Warren, Minn., and Ayers, a fishing guide, is from Pennsylvania.

Several from around northwestern Minnesota had followed the search on LaValla's funding site and on social media.

"Such sad news. Prayers for family and friends of all three and everyone helping search, raise money and give support," Shawna Wendler wrote in a comment on a post about the search on the Facebook page for the Northern Light Region newspaper in Baudette.