Day 8 Wraps In Kaw Lake Search For Craig Strickland; Mission Resumes At Daybreak

<p>Day 8 in the search for a duck hunter has ended with no answers, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol says. Search efforts for Craig Strickland were suspended Sunday due to darkness.</p>

Sunday, January 3rd 2016, 8:15 pm

By: News On 6

Day 8 Wraps In Kaw Lake Search For Craig Strickland; Mission Resumes At Daybreak

Day 8 in the search for a duck hunter has ended with no answers, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol says.

Search efforts for Craig Strickland were suspended Sunday due to darkness.

OHP said it used four side scan boats and rescue dogs on land and water at Kaw Lake.

The OHP plane also flew over land and water.

Strickland, an Oklahoma native who is a member of the regionally popular band Backroad Anthem, was last seen on Dec. 26 with a longtime friend. The pair left their homes in Arkansas to go to Kaw Lake to hunt as the winter storm began to move in on north-central Oklahoma.

Family reported the two missing on Dec. 27, and their capsized boat was found that day. The next day, Chase Morland’s body was found. Family said Strickland's hunting dog Sam also was found unharmed, standing guard over Morland's body.

Search efforts have continued each day since, with no sign of Strickland’s whereabouts.

Strickland’s wife, Helen, posted on social media on Saturday that although the search has become daunting, the family was uplifted by positive thoughts.

“We are able to stay positive after conducting an interesting experiment to see if waders actually cause a person to sink,” Helen Strickland posted on Instagram. “Since Craig was most likely wearing his waders it would be helpful to know what actually happens when a duck hunter falls into the water. Craig's friend put on the same style waders Craig wore last Sunday and tested it's buoyancy in the hotel pool. From this experiment we can conclude that Craig may have actually floated after the boat was capsized. Our family wants to thank Craig's friends Garthe Goodwin, Ryan Ney, Brandon James and Jake Terry who have not stopped trying to do everything possible to find Craig. Thank you for being willing to try this experiment to answer more questions for our family.”

Helen Strickland and other family members have been on scene with OHP throughout the search. She posted a photo to Twitter early Sunday as OHP scanned the water.

"Located a cove that looked promising," she tweeted, while showing a photo from Sunday of her sitting in a boat with Sam on Kaw Lake.

A few hours after that, she posted a scripture.