One Missing Fisherman Found Alive, the Other Dead

LAKE PALESTINE (AP) – A fishing boat accident in East Texas has left one man dead and another saved by looping his belt around a stump in the middle of the lake. Officials say 61-year-old Mike Ammons of New London was in good condition Friday at a Tyler hospital. Ammons and 64-year-old Tommy Cook of Overton went fishing early Wednesday at Lake Palestine. Relatives reported the pair missing Wednesday night.

Department of Public Safety Trooper Jean Dark says searchers in a DPS helicopter spotted Cook’s body Thursday afternoon, then located Ammons about a quarter-mile away. Dark says Ammons looped his belt around a stump and partly pull himself from the water. DPS says the boat sank during choppy, windy conditions and that both men wore life jackets.