by KY3 Staff and Michael Hoffman

The body of a fisherman has been recovered from Stockton Lake on Saturday morning.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol drowning report, 52-year-old Travis McCann, from Miller, Missouri, fell overboard from his Seaark boat, went underwater, and never resurfaced.

Authorities say he was not wearing a safety device.

The highway patrol says three men went fishing Friday, and as they were wrapping things up at the boat ramp, two men went to get the truck and a trailer to back it down into the water while McCann stayed on the boat.

Around 11:30 p.m., they returned to the ramp and did not see the boat or McCann. Moments later, the two men were able to spot the boat and McCann in the water far away from the boat ramp.

The two men then called for help. Troopers with the highway patrol were on the scene Friday night and placed a call for the MSHP dive team to assist in the recovery.

“They arrived this morning, and recovery was made of that missing subject about 9:15 this morning,” says MSHP Troop D Sergeant Mike McClure.

McClure adds the request for a dive team from the highway patrol starts in Jefferson City, and they call divers who are in close proximity to wherever a drowning occurs.

“We’re going to do everything we can, under the circumstances, to try to locate. Whether we’re using a diver, sonar, or a drag to try to recover a missing subject. If they have a good location and a witness who says the person did not resurface, we can mark a specific area and wait until ideal conditions to come back and assure recovery then,” says Sgt. McClure.

McClure says as the warmer days are on the horizon in the Ozarks, boaters or anyone going to the lake need to be extra safe as the temperature in the air is not the same as in the water.

“We’ve had some days near the 70s recently, and that’s an itch that needs to be scratched by some people to get out on the water and just enjoy the day. But the water temperature hasn’t changed that much,” says Sgt. McClure.

McClure adds that hypothermia, however you enter the water, is going to be a factor in the loss of body heat. It’s very important to get out of the cold water as quickly as you can.

He also urges anyone going on the water to wear life jackets while boating in these temperatures.

This marks MSHP Troop D’s first drowning of 2024.