Craig Strickland‘s widow, Helen, attended Chase Morland’s visitation on Tuesday, January 5, with her late husband’s sister, Jenna, his father, Randy, and his beloved dog, Sam.
Helen, clad in head to toe in black with a gray vest for the somber occasion, posed with her in-laws and Sam outside of the venue. “‘The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit,'” she shared from biblical passage Psalms 34:18.
Country singer Craig was found dead in the Lake Kaw region north of Tulsa, Oklahoma, this past Monday, January 4. Craig, 29, had gone on a duck-hunting trip in the middle of winter storm Goliath with his friend Morland, who was found dead a week earlier on December 28. Helen previously shared that Sam the dog refused to leave Morland’s side until authorities came and recovered his body.
“We had the opportunity to go to Chase Morland’s visitation tonight,” Helen shared on Tuesday. “He was so loved by so many people. It was encouraging to be around his wonderful friends and family.” Joining the trio at the visitation on Tuesday was Craig’s 9-year-old black Labrador.
“Sam was also invited,” Helen continued. “He has truly been a comfort to all of us. We are so thankful the Lord blessed us with such a extraordinary pup.”
Jenna also shared a pic with Helen and the dog on Tuesday night. “Our Sammy boy keeps us strong,” she captioned the pic.
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The Oklahoma Highway Patrol explained to Us Weekly on Tuesday, January 5, why it was so difficult to track Strickland’s body. According to a statement, an OHP trooper was searching a brush area filled with trees when he spotted Strickland’s camouflage hunting gear about 75 feet off the shoreline of the lake in an area called Bear Creek Cove. His body was located a quarter mile north of where Morland was previously found dead.
Helen previously shared that her husband “had fought his way out of the water” after their boat had capsized, and “up a hill” before the frigid cold resulted in hypothermia. “He experienced no pain in his final moments,” the widow wrote on Monday. “And simply felt like he was falling asleep. They found him lying in the shape of a cross looking up to his Father.”
