OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (WSVN) — Authorities are searching for a Florida man who went missing after the boat he was on capsized during a fishing tournament on Lake Okeechobee, Thursday.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Nik Kayler and William Kisiah were taking part in the event when something happened to their boat, and both men ended up in the water.
But officials said only one of them was found. “William Kisiah was able to get back on the vessel, and it was adrift until it made landfall near Pahokee Marina,” said Florida Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Amy Moore.
Cameras captured the fishermen’s damaged boat after Kisiah was located.
Members of the community have volunteered to help in the search for Kayler. “As soon as I found out, at 4 o’clock in the morning, I got dressed and went to boat launch to see if I could hop on someone’s boat to go have an extra set of eyes out,” said one volunteer,
A photo posted on the Fishing League Worldwide website shows Kayler and Kisiah on their vessel at the start of the tournament. According to the league, both men were wearing life jackets.
Kisiah was rushed to the hospital after being found.
Officials are hoping he can give them information that can help with their search. “Possibly hoping that, if he has a better indication as to where we should be searching,” said Moore. “It would be something they are looking for, but at this moment they’re gonna search the lake top to bottom until we’ve exhausted everything we’ve got.”
Officials said Kayler has competed in dozens of fishing tournaments in the past.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.