Search for Missing Country Singer Craig Strickland Temporarily Called Off

Rescue crews are looking for the Backyard Anthem vocalist who went missing during an ill-fated hunting trip in Oklahoma

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The search for missing country singer Craig Strickland was suspended on Tuesday night, with authorities saying they will resume looking for the Backyard Anthem vocalist on Wednesday morning.

Search crews have been using a sonar boat and helicopter to search for 29-year-old Strickland, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Strickland and his friend Chase Morland, 22, went on a duck hunting trip in Kay County, Oklahoma, during a violent storm over the weekend. Their boat was found capsized in Kaw Lake north of Tulsa just after midnight on Monday morning.

Morland’s remains were recovered by officials at around 11 a.m. Monday, local station CBS affiliate KTHV 11 reported. Strickland’s dog, Sam, was found guarding Morland’s body and wouldn’t leave him until the Warden arrived, Craig’s wife, Heather Strickland, tweeted on Tuesday.

“Sam is fine, he was a brave boy,” she wrote, before thanking fans for their support. “We are overwhelmed with the love and prayers we have received.”

Late Saturday, Morland sent out a tweet that seemed to foreshadow the subsequent tragedy: “In case we don’t come back, @BackroadCRAIG and I are going right through Winter Storm Goliath to kill ducks in Oklahoma. #IntoTheStorm.”

Strickland, of Springdale, Arkansas, is the lead singer and acoustic guitarist for country rock band Backroad Anthem.

The other members of the band are: Toby Freeman, Eric Dysart, Josh Bryant, Brandon Robold and Isaac Senty.

Backroad Anthem was scheduled to play at the Rev Room in Little Rock, Arkansas, on New Year’s Eve.  They’ve performed with notable country music artists including Justin Moore and Dierks Bentley.

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