Country Singer Craig Strickland Died from Hypothermia, Wife Says

Friends and family members of country singer Craig Strickland finally have closure after they searched an Oklahoma lake for days after he vanished in the middle of a duck-hunting trip.

Strickland's body was recovered Monday in the wake of Winter Storm Goliath after an organized, days-long search, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. His body was found along the shoreline of Kaw Lake, north of where his boat capsized over a week ago while on a hunting trip with friend Chase Morland. Morland was found dead in the lake Dec. 28, according to the Associated Press.

According to his wife, Helen, Strickland died of hypothermia, she said in an Instagram post that followed the recovery of his body.

Strickland was a member of the band Backroad Anthem. On Monday, his bandmates remembered him on their Facebook page.

"Today we lost our brother, our best friend, our bandmate," they wrote on the Backroad Anthem Facebook page. "Craig was the most amazing person whose passion for life couldn't be matched."

Teams used a sonar boat and helicopter during their search for Strickland, according to KFSM-TV.

The Kay County Sheriff’s Office contacted the Oklahoma Highway Patrol at about 9 p.m. CST Sunday, Dec. 27, after they learned that two hunters went missing at Kaw Lake sometime over the weekend.

Searchers found the men's capsized boat shortly after midnight Monday, but not the two men, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.

Morland, from Van Buren, Arkansas, posted on Twitter that he and Strickland, were "going right through Winter Storm Goliath" to go duck hunting. Strickland also retweeted the post on his Twitter account.

Oklahoma was hit hard over the weekend by an ice storm from the deadly Winter Storm Goliath, which also injured more than 50 people, closed interstates and knocked down trees and power lines. Nearly 200,000 lost power across the state due to the icy weather.

Strickland's wife, Helen, posted on Twitter last Monday that her husband had not yet been found, but their dog, Sam, who was with them on the duck hunting trip, was found alive.


"Sam is fine," Helen posted. "He was a brave boy. He wouldn't leave Chase's body until the Warden found him."