Search continues for two missing boaters

The search continued Wednesday for two of three Las Vegas boaters who were reported missing at Lake Mead last week.

The three men, one of whom was found dead, were friends and avid fishermen who visited the lake a few times a month for multiday fishing trips, National Park Service spokeswoman Christie Vanover said.

“They usually called in at night,” Vanover said. “They didn’t call in one night, so the family got concerned.”

After family members contacted the Park Service on Feb. 20, a ranger located the group’s vehicle and boat trailer at Echo Bay, about an hour to 90 minutes from Boulder City, Vanover said.

The search began the next morning and about 11:30 a.m. the group’s capsized 1977 Glastron boat was found floating in the bay, Vanover said.

The search effort immediately expanded to include the Nevada Wildlife Department and Metropolitan Police Department, she said.

About three hours after finding the boat, the body of Oscar Dixon Jr., 48, was found on a rock, a half mile from the boat, Vanover said. He was not wearing a life jacket.

Dixon was pronounced dead by the Clark County medical examiner about 5 p.m. Friday, Vanover said.

The official cause of death will not be released for six to eight weeks pending test results, the medical examiner’s office said.

“After the initial body was found, we did amp up our search efforts,” Vanover said.

On Saturday, Red Rock Search and Rescue volunteers joined the search. About 100 people searched 30,000 acres by land, air and water, Vanover said. Seven miles of shoreline were combed Saturday for any sign of someone exiting the water, but Vanover said the other two men, whose names have not been released, were not found.

“Right now the assumption is they possibly drowned,” Vanover said.

Vanover said the Park Service will search for the men by boat until Sunday.