NOWATA COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – An 83-year-old man drowned in northeast Oklahoma last week after going fishing.

It happened on May 22, near Big Creek on the Verdigris River in Nowata County.

According to a report from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, around 8 p.m., the Nowata County Sheriff’s Office received a call of an overdue boater.

Officials found the truck and trailer belonging to the boater at the boat ramp in Big Creek in the upper end of Oolagah Lake.

It is believed the boater went fishing in the Verdigris River.

A search was conducted that night but was unsuccessful.

A life jacket and the gas tank belonging to the boater were found downstream at the mouth of the river.

The report states search efforts continued until the victim, identified as Ronald Baker, 83, of Chelsea, was found around 8:15 a.m. on May 23 in approximately 18 feet of water.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.