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Missing Nampa fishermen found safe by searching family members

Wade Osterhout and Larry Brewer missed work on Monday after heading out with their catarafts the day before.
Credit: Nampa police
Nampa police are asking for the public's help to find two missing fishermen.

NAMPA -- A search for two men who failed to return from a weekend fishing trip had a happy ending Tuesday.

Nampa residents Wade Osterhout, 32, and Larry Brewer, 48, have been found safe by family members near the Guffey Bridge at Celebration Park in Canyon County, Nampa Police announced Tuesday morning.

The pair sparked worry after they headed out on a cataraft fishing trip Sunday, then did not return. Both Osterhout and Brewer missed work on Monday, police say.

Family members of one of the men had told authorities that he had recently purchased the cataraft, and was not yet experienced with it.

The Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office, the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office, the Homedale Police Department, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office and the Civil Air Patrol all assisted in the search.

Nampa Police also asked members of the public to keep an eye out for the men, their rafts, or the red 1997 Ford Ranger they had been driving.

Nampa Police say they have learned that an electric motor the men had attached to one of the catarafts stopped working, and the men became stranded in an area without cell service. Additionally, one of the fishermen dropped his phone in the water, police say.

According to police spokesman Sgt. Tim Riha, Osterhout and Brewer attempted to walk to an area with cell phone service. Although they were not able to make a call on the remaining cell phone, at one point the signal was strong enough to be detected by searchers with the Civil Air Patrol.

The Civil Air Patrol passed the GPS coordinates along to family members of the missing men, who went out to the area and began searching, yelling for the men. Relatives ultimately found the pair near Guffey Bridge.

Nampa Police said the incident should serve as a reminder to always take precautions in the outdoors.

"Please make sure that family members know where you are going and when you’ll be back. Make sure you have sufficient food and water with you in case you get stuck or stranded," police said. "If you’re going to be on the waterways, have all the required safety gear with you, such as a personal flotation device and whistle."

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