Missing man's boat found at Percy Priest Lake

[ThrillSeeker]

Be careful out there, guys. I've fished with this man before. My heart goes out to his family.



NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
Search crews have been at Percy Priest Lake looking for a boater who hasn't been seen or heard from since Wednesday.
Rescuers were searching throughout the night to find 49-year-old Troy Stafford, who is believed to have gotten in his boat around noon Wednesday.
Family members said he sent a text message around 4:30 p.m., and they have not heard from him since.
Authorities found Stafford's boat in the water and said his truck and trailer were found nearby.
Officials with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency have been searching near some of his favorite fishing spots.
As of 1 a.m. Thursday, the TWRA had two in the water looking for Stafford.
The search is expected to resume during the daylight hours on Thursday

[agelesssone]

Unexpected things happen on the water in a boat.

I try to remember to wear my PFD anytime I am fishing alone.

I hope he got to swim to an island and will be rescued.

[Reel Tune]

That is very saddening. A good reminder to always wear your PDF. Thoughts and prayers go out to the Stafford family.

[ThrillSeeker]

Unexpected things happen on the water in a boat.

I try to remember to wear my PFD anytime I am fishing alone.

I hope he got to swim to an island and will be rescued.

He fished the lower end a lot. Maybe he is on Bear or Pig island and his phone is dead from getting wet. It's tough to be optimistic in these situations.

[ThrillSeeker]

It's weird how things come full circle.

I went out to help with searching for the body this morning and with the help of 2 other fishermen from Ohio, we found his remains. He was at the first spot that he and I went bass fishing together.

The good news is that the family now has closure. Before I got in the boat, his wife told me that's all she wanted.

Deep down I knew that I'd be the one who would find him. Even with that mental preparation, it's tough to see your fishing buddy that way.

I say all that to say this.....be careful out there guys. And if you have an old fishing buddy that you haven't talked to in a while, call them and say hi.

[GO-OKFISHIN]

Wow, that had to be tough. Prayers for the family.

[Halli]

~+~
god bless

[agelesssone]

Any chance on getting some details on the accident? Was he wearing a PFD
Will there be an autopsy to determine cause of death?
Any answers may keep someone else from suffering the same fate.
Cool water temps are here and people don't live too long in the water now. This story has caused my partner and I to wear our PFD's whenever we fish alone. I have put together a trunk of dry clothes to put on my boat in case of an accidental dunking. And that is something that can happen in an instant. A slip, trip, or stumble and you can be overboard in an instant.
It happened to me when a client lost his balance, fell into me and knocked me overboard.
Luckily it was shallow enough for me to stand up in the chest high water. Bad thing was, it had warmed up enough for me to remove my dry box of clothes from the boat. Had a very chilly trip for the next five hours.
I now keep a set of dry clothes in the truck. But as it is cooling down, I'll put the box back on the boat.
Lone fishermen, wear your PFD's.

[TroutFiend]

http://wsmv.com/story/26886537/police-use-sonar-to-search-for-missing-boater

It is on the channel 4 app.

[Travis C.]

Thoughts and prayer for his family/friends.

This is a good slogan to go by especially in winter fishing.. "If you're not always prepared, you're never prepared."

[agelesssone]

http://wsmv.images.worldnow.com/images/5369821_G.jpg (http://wsmv.images.worldnow.com/images/5369821_G.jpg) Troy Stafford

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - TWRA confirms the body found in Percy Priest Lake today is that of missing boater, Troy Stafford.
A fisherman caught the attention of a TWRA officer after seeing something unusual while out on Percy Priest Lake.
Officers found Stafford's body not far from the back cove where his boat was.
Stafford, 49, hit the water around noon Wednesday.
TWRA officers think he may have fallen overboard while fishing, and they say Stafford was not wearing a life vest.
Stafford's family said he could not swim.


Read more: http://www.wsmv.com/story/26886537/police-use-sonar-to-search-for-missing-boater#ixzz3HGiz2iqJ

[ThrillSeeker]

I will post details tomorrow, because I really think that they will help save a life. He wasn't wearing a PFD and couldn't swim.

Today I will finish mourning and order that rearming kit for my PFD and building that 'dry bag' for the boat that I've been procrastinating on.

And also try to "unsee" what I saw.



Any chance on getting some details on the accident?

[Heiny57]

Prayers for family sent.


I bought an inflatable I now wear all the time. And my kids are getting some for Christmas.

[browntrout]

Prayers to you Thrillseeker. I am sure that must be a difficult vision to erase from your memory. I am sure the family is very appreciative of your work and helping to give them closure.
I think the lesson we can all take away is to use EXTREME caution when on the water. I know Alphahawk and I have made a pack to always wear a PFD regardless of temperature or depth of water. I know sometimes it can be uncomfortable but with the inflatables its not that bad. We just never know when that i slip up can happen.

Roy

[Pookie]

they say Stafford was not wearing a life vest.
Stafford's family said he could not swim.


You can't cheat death for long given those facts.

[agelesssone]

I will post details tomorrow, because I really think that they will help save a life. He wasn't wearing a PFD and couldn't swim.

Today I will finish mourning and order that rearming kit for my PFD and building that 'dry bag' for the boat that I've been procrastinating on.

And also try to "unsee" what I saw.

Thrillseeker, you have my condolences. Losing a friend or family is always difficult, seeing them in the condition after death is awful.

My unit in Vietnam was all "point men". I saw some of my comrades leave on a mission and some I had to pull off of helicopters by their boots when they came back in. Very traumatizing.

Watched my roommate and his dog fall 120 feet from a helicopter and land thirty yards from me on a steel landing pad.

I will say some prayers that will hopefully ease your pain.

[ThrillSeeker]

Thrillseeker, you have my condolences. Losing a friend or family is always difficult, seeing them in the condition after death is awful.

Prayers to you Thrillseeker.



Thank you for the prayers guys.

The news reports were accurate in that he couldn't swim and didn't wear his life preserver. I hadn't fished with him in a while, but when I last did, he wore his PFD the whole time.

He had been fishing bass tournaments recently, and he may have picked up the habit of only wearing his PFD while running across the lake.

He was found in 6 ft of water, and it appeared that he may have slipped while trying to retreive a lure that was stuck in a brush pile.

The news reports were inaccuate regarding a fisherman who "saw something out of place and called TWRA" There were two guys fishing in the cove where Mr Stafford's boat was found. I went back there to search, even thought I knew OEM and TWRA had probably searched that area w/ a fine toothed comb.

I passed the fishermen and started turning around to do another lap through the cove, and they started yelling and waving to get my attention. I went over there and they said they saw a jacket in the water but didn't see anything else.

I went over and I saw my friend's body, so I threw out a marker buoy. I called his daughter and asked her to tell the OEM dispatcher to send a boat to the back of the cove where I was. I showed them where the body was and they asked me not to say anything to the family until they recovered him and confirmed it was him.

Silver lining is that I asked one of the TWRA agents where they've been catching crappie and he told me of a couple of spots. I haven't had much luck this fall, so I 'm going to try them soon. One this is for sure: I won't be fishing in Elm Hill Recreation Area for a LONG time.

[Jim]

Sad story. My condolences to all involved.

Jim

[Alphahawk]

Very sad.....my condolences. I made up my mind on the trip to the White River back in July that no matter the vessel I was in on the water I would wear a PFD. It was hot on the river then and we were in a 21 foot boat....but I kept it on. To me it is just the prudent thing to do.


Regards

[agelesssone]

Alpha you are right. You just never know when the slip, trip, or stumble is going to happen.

[Adough]

I wear mine when I bank fish. I am a competent swimmer and have trophy lined walls from my time on swim team. I've done some extreme water trips, some that required me to tread water for 20 mins(no pdf) before I was allowed to go. And, I still wear my PDF even when bank fishing. There is no acceptable reason not to.

[Pookie]

I wear mine when I bank fish.

And, I still wear my PDF even when bank fishing. There is no acceptable reason not to.

Unless you have polio, I can't imagine wearing one on the bank.


http://mountainlake.org/downloads/1379/download/bitblt-300x300-6a2f173d2d95f81343135d8a891d5df882400aa9/PDF.png?cb=a9d5d488ae5f4eb2420cfac64855a53e

OR:

http://www.rescuedirect.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/I650_red.jpg