Search goes on for boater who didn't reach shore

PROVO — The last anyone saw of Lon Thongthipvoravong, he was holding on to an engine cover shortly after the boat that he and five of his friends and relatives were using capsized.

Others tried to encourage him to keep swimming despite the fact that he was crying, "I need help," and appeared to be struggling to keep afloat in the cold water and waves.

911 call part 1

911 call part 2

His friends later heard what they thought was a faint cry for help, possibly from Thongthipvoravong. That was the last anyone heard from him.

Searchers scoured the Utah Lake throughout Tuesday looking for the 32-year-old Laos native from Orem. The search ended for the night about 9:20 p.m. It will resume at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

By Tuesday evening, searchers had logged more than 700 man hours scouring the lake in what Utah County Sheriff's Lt. Dennis Harris said remains a "rescue effort, not a recovery."

Searchers recovered life jackets and seat cushions believed to be from the capsized boat during a 1-square-mile search of the lake between Provo and Lindon, Harris said. The perimeter will be expanded Wednesday, he said.

Earlier Tuesday, the search was concentrated in the tall reeds near the shore of the Sleepy Ridge Golf Course, where some of the survivors thought they had heard the cry for help.

Thongthipvoravong was one of six men who went fishing late Monday afternoon.