Earl R. Jones

 It is with a heavy heart that I make this post. My longtime friend, fishing partner, hunting buddy and fellow club member, Earl R. Jones, has passed away. Just so we don’t have all kind of rumors floating around, I will briefly describe what we have pieced together. Our club was to have a bass tournament on Pine Creek Lake today.  Since Earl now lives in Wagoner, Oklahoma, he would drive to the tournament lake the night before, unload his boat, and then sleep in the back seat of his truck until morning when the rest of our members would start to show up. When I and a few others members arrived at about 5:00 am this morning, we found Earl’s truck and boat trailer still on the ramp, still running, with the lights on. Earl, nor his boat could be found. I called 911 and asked for assistance.  Later in the morning, his boat was found quite a distance down the lake.  A short piece of rope tied to the front of the boat had a frayed end. We surmised this was the rope he tied to his boat to keep it from drifting away while unloading. Apparently it had broken and his boat drifted away from the trailer.  We believe he then tried to swim out to the boat to retrieve it but was unable to do so, went under and did not resurface.  His body was found before noon today by an OHP diver, just a short distance from the floating dock. I would ask that you keep his wife, son, daughters, grandchildren and other family members and his close friends in your prayers