EUFAULA, Ala. (WDHN) – The body of the third missing fisherman has been recovered, bringing a search that lasted five days and involved over 20 different agencies to a close.
Henry County Coroner Derek Wright identified the body as 51-year-old Keith Price of Henry County.
The other two men who were also killed in the fishing accident are 52-year-old Timothy Arnold Evans and 54-year-old John White, also are from Henry County.
Shortly after 10 a.m. on Monday, the boat that belonged to the three fishermen was located.
“This morning about 10:15, Georgia DNR was using their tow fish unit and found an image of a boat at the bottom of the lake,” Henry County Sheriff William Maddox said. “So we marked it and sent the divers down and it was the boat of the three fishermen.”
Currently emergency agencies are working to retrieve the boat, in hopes of finding answers.
“There are some clues, we are going to wait until we get the boat up and do an investigation and then we might can tell what happened,.” Maddox said.
The three men put their boat in at Thomas Mill Creek off Lake Eufaula Wednesday night around 9 p.m.
The search began on Thursday when the families of the three men began to worry since the men had not returned home from fishing and notified the Henry County Sheriff’s office.
The truck and trailer the men used to put the boat in the water was found in the parking lot of Baker’s Landing off Thomas Mill Creek.
“We began the search Thursday evening and we searched until 11 p.m. until it got so foggy we had to call it off,” Maddox said. ” We started back Friday morning at 7:30, right off the bat at about 8:30 we recovered one of the fishermen from the lake.”
The fisherman found was Timothy Arnold Evans of Henry County.
A prosthetic leg was also recovered that belonged to one of the fishermen, along with a jacket and fishing supplies.
Cadaver dogs were brought up from Panama City on Friday in hopes that they could help find the men.
On Sunday, just before 5 p.m. Dale County Sheriff’s helicopter Pilot Mike Quiller notified command they had spotted a body floating.
The search boats responded to the area and recovered the second body of the three men missing.
Henry County Coroner Derek Wright identified the body as John White.
“When we found the second fisherman, it narrowed the search down to a lot smaller area,” Maddox said. “That’s where we are concentrating on now, and that is one of the reasons we were able to locate the boat. The agencies have really worked good together. We have had agencies from all over and it has just been a tremendous effort of all the people who offered their services and we are humbled by that. We really appreciate it and we want to thank them very much.”
The Henry County Sheriff’s department has been assisted by the Dale County Sheriff’s office who provided air support, Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, Houston County Sheriff’s Department, Henry County Search and Rescue, ALEA, Georgia DNR, Alabama Game and Fish, Henry County EMA, Houston County EMA, Screamer Volunteer Fire Department, Abbeville Police Department, the Henry County Coroner, Corp Engineers, Covington County Rescue, Opp Fire – Rescue, Alabama Law Enforcement Dive Team, Alabama Law Enforcement Marine Division, Houston County Rescue Unit, Alabama Marine Police, and many volunteers.
If you live on Lake Eufaula or were near the area on Wednesday night and believe that you may have heard or have seen something related to this search, you are urged to call the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at 334-585-3131.
