MUSKOGEE COUNTY, Okla. — A man has drowned on the Neosho River near Fort Gibson in Muskogee County Wednesday evening according to Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Officers say Thomas Edward Barnett Jr, 39 of Fort Gibson, was reported missing by a relative after the family returned to a location to pick him up following a fishing trip and discovered he was not there. Local authorities began search with no recovery at the time. Just before 10 p.m. the OHP Marine Enforcement Division was contacted to assist in a water search.

On Thursday, September 18 around 9:30 the Marine Enforcement Division found Barnett in approximately eight feet of water, approximately three feet below the surface, near Clinkenbeard State Park in Muskogee County.

OHP says a personal flotation device was not in use.