BAUDETTE -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 on the lake's shores.
A GoFundMe webpage was launched in the aftermath of a boating accident that prompted an ongoing air, ground and water search for the three missing boaters.
The boaters - Keith Ryan Ayers, 28, Cody Joseph Ostendorf, 24, and Justin Kelly Haugtvedt, 22, all of Baudette - were last seen Friday night leaving Oak Island, near the international border at the north end of the lake, and were reported missing Saturday afternoon, shortly before their capsized boat was found near Flag Island, just west of Oak Island.
The Lake of the Woods County Sheriff's Office, along with the U.S. Border Patrol and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, has been searching for the men near Flag and Oak islands since Saturday, but with no results as of this morning.
The Water Patrol Division of the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office sent two deputies to join in search efforts Monday, according to the office's spokeswoman Rebecca Gilbuena.
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The Hennepin County deputies were expected to bring more sophisticated sonar equipment to aid in search and rescue efforts today.
While the Sheriff's Office has not permitted the men's family members to aid in the search, they have gathered in Baudette and are awaiting answers from the lake's shores.
Donors have poured more than $8,000 into the GoFundMe account , which says, "Donations will help all the families with their expenses at this time."
Missing
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 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.
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 16-foot vessel.
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The official cause of the accident has not been released.
