Monday, April 20th 2015, 2:00 pm
State troopers are in their second day of searching for two fishermen lost on Lake Eufaula. Family members found their canoe and a pair of boots just after midnight.
Troopers say they won't stop searching until the men are found.
The two men were reported missing on Lake Eufaula over the weekend. Twenty-three-year-old James "Mike" Giles and 41-year-old Sean McDonald were last seen just after 11 p.m. Saturday leaving the Holiday Cove area in the canoe.The search began Sunday evening after OHP was notified the two men were missing. They had to postpone the search when it got too dark, but were back out Monday using side-scan sonar to search the bottom of the lake.
4/20/2015 Related Story: 2 Men Missing On Lake Eufaula; OHP Suspends Search Until Morning
Family members say cousins McDonald and Giles left their campsite Saturday night to fish but never made it back.
"They basically lived on the lake," said family member Sean Dandridge. "They came down and camped all the time; camping was a big thing."
Dandridge and his wife Lori say they'll stay at the lake until the men are found. Lori is Sean McDonald's sister.
"When he didn't show up, we knew something was wrong because he was a very responsible person," she said.
The family searched for the cousins in the Holiday Cove area of Lake Eufaula. Troopers believe severe weather rolled in and capsized the canoe.
"I know we're in recovery mode," Lori said. "I just want them to find the bodies so we can be at peace and know we found them."
Lori Dandridge says she'll be there for her brother because he was always there for her. She said Mike always took care of everybody too and was always smiling.
"My brother - he always looked out for me; he was always the older brother you looked up to," she said. "I just always felt so proud to have him as a big brother because I knew he would protect me no matter what, and now I just want to find his body.
"You never know when the last time is when you're going to see them," said Lori Dandridge, sister of Sean McDonald. "You need to make every moment count, bcause I wouldn't never dreamed I would be standing beside a lake waiting on them to find my brother and my cousin."
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