Body of country singer Craig Strickland recovered in Oklahoma

Craig Strickland, lead singer of the country-rock band Backroad Anthem who was reported missing on Dec. 27 after going on a duck hunt, has been found dead in Oklahoma, officials and his wife said on Monday.

"He is safe with his Father in Heaven," his wife, Helen Strickland, tweeted.

The body of the 29-year-old singer was found by Kaw Lake in northern Oklahoma in an area known as Bear Creek Cove, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Strickland, of Springdale, Arkansas, had gone duck hunting with his friend Chase Marland, of Marlow, Oklahoma, despite the severe winter storm that hit the Midwest, officials said. Their capsized boat was found on Dec. 28, and Marland's body was found the same day.

More than 30 people have died in the U.S. Midwest following days of downpours that pushed the Mississippi and smaller rivers over their banks in several states during the holiday period.

(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski in Chicago and Piya Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles; Editing by Chris Reese and Leslie Adler)