Apopka fisherman reported missing on Okeechobee

LAKE OKEECHOBEE — The search for an angler missing since Thursday was called off for the night about 6 p.m. Sunday after another blustery day on the lake.

Eight boats scouring the waters Sunday found no sign of Nik Kayler, the 38-year-old fisherman from Apopka, said Amy Moore, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The search will resume at first light today.

Kayler was participating in a bass fishing tournament with William Kisiah, of Louisiana, when their boat capsized, flinging them into the water.

They were reported missing Thursday evening after not meeting competitors at a weigh-in station at C. Scott Driver Park, on the northwest side of the vast 750-square-mile lake.

Kisiah was found alive at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday along with the pair’s capsized boat in Pahokee, on the southeast shore of the lake.

Air temperatures dipped to 35 degrees Thursday and winds measured 15 to 20 mph near Clewiston, according to the National Weather

Eight boats scouring the waters Sunday found no sign of Nik Kayler.

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Kisiah was taken to the hospital and treated for hypothermia. Fishing League Worldwide canceled the event Friday as FWC worked with the U.S. Coast Guard and local authorities to try and locate Kayler.

Tournament officials said the two, in a dark-colored Ranger boat with a red motor, were planning to head to the South Bay area of the lake from the north end Thursday. It is unclear whether they were cutting across the center of the lake, where conditions would have been roughest.

About 500 anglers had gathered at Lake Okeechobee for the event, some of whom stuck around to help look for the missing angler.

A Facebook group named Boaters looking for Nik Kayler sprung up Friday to ease communication. Late Sunday, there were about 3,500 members.

Kayler was an Army veteran, described as a specialist on a Black Hawk helicopter crew in a 2003 New York Times article.

Kayler participated in 61 previous FLW events as a co-angler and Kisiah has been a professional boater in the competitions for nine years, an FLW news release said.

GoFundMe pages created to show support for Kayler’s wife and daughter raised more than $15,000 by Sunday night.