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Local authorities are still searching for a 73-year-old boater who is missing after going overboard near a resort in the Van Hook Arm of Lake Sakakawea Monday afternoon.
According to Mountrail County Sheriff Corey Bristol, a 911 call was received at 2:41 p.m., reporting that a man had fallen overboard off a fishing boat. The caller reported they were about five miles south of the Van Hook Resort. The sheriff identified the victim as Richard Mickelson, 73, Rolla, who had been fishing in his boat with his wife, Roberta Mickelson, 70.
Mickelson had been untangling a fishing line from the boat's motor when he fell in. Mickelson was reportedly not wearing a life vest, and his wife was not able to get him back into the boat before it drifted away from the location. Mickelson was wearing a gold or russet-colored Carhartt sweatshirt, a flannel shirt and blue jeans.
The search for Mickelson began shortly after the 911 call was received, with participation by the New Town Fire Department, Mountrail County Sheriff's Office, Three Affiliated Tribes Law Enforcement, North Dakota Game and Fish and MHA Emergency Response Center personnel. Aircraft went up in the air to search, and members of the public also answered the call to contribute their boats and time scouring the shoreline of the lake.
A post by the Van Hook Resort Facebook page was updated on Monday to thank members of the public who had provided their boats and time to the search effort but stated the North Dakota Game and Fish, along with the New Town ambulance, would continue the search with a handful of private boaters.
The sheriff said on Tuesday that the search had been postponed due to high winds and rough waters but will resume as soon as weather conditions improve. Bristol indicated divers are on standby to assist as needed.