WINONA — Authorities have found the body of a man who fell from a canoe into the backwaters of the Mississippi River near Winona.

Reports said 88-year-old Robert Lester Duncanson, of Stockton, was found about 50 feet from where his canoe tipped. Crews used long poles with hooks to catch hold of him by his clothing.

Winona County Sheriff Dave Brand said Duncanson was fishing alone near the Prairie Island spillway around 11 a.m. Friday when he got too close to the churning water.

A group of men saw him struggling but could not reach him before he went under. Jake Shelter, who tried to save him, says Duncanson was an avid angler who regularly fished the area and knew the backwaters well.