(Editor's note: The Bass Federation (TBF) issued a release today regarding the death of a competitor in the Southern Divisional due to a lightning strike at Lake Okeechobee on Friday. It's reprinted below in its entirety.)
Rogue Lightning Strike Claims a Life of TBF Florida Member
Ponca City, Okla., - Monday, June 11, 2012
TBF mourns the loss of division championship angler, Lorenzo Magdaleno, 51, from Lake Placid, Fl. He was a veteran angler and a member of the Florida Bass Federation and the Homestead Hawg Hunters club for more than a decade. Magdaleno was pronounced dead by Florida officials on Friday, June 8, after a bolt of lightning apparently struck Magdaleno and his boat partner, Mike Hardin, from Tennessee while they fishing shortly after noon prior to the final day weigh-in of the TBF Southern Division Championship on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee.
Preliminary reports outline a quick-moving afternoon storm passed over part of the giant lake. Other parts of the lake remained clear and sunny, while some were cloudy with “drizzle.” The information we have at this point is Lorenzo Magdaleno and his partner were fishing approximately 45 minutes away from the tournament launch area. Magdaleno was in the front of the boat running the trolling motor as it was “his half of the day” (TBF division championships are draw events where both anglers get control of the boat and choose the water for one half of each tournament day). Magdaleno’s partner, Mike Hardin, who was the boat’s owner, caught a limit during the first half of the day and was fishing off the back deck to allow Magdaleno his best chance to finish off his limit. Hardin was knocked off his feet by the strike and awoke after an undetermined amount of time on the back deck of the boat not knowing what had exactly happened. Hardin was examined at the local hospital and released, as noted Magdaleno did not survive.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Lorenzo’s extended list of family and friends, the Florida Bass Federation, as well as Lorenzo’s partner for the day, Mike Hardin, who was in the boat with him during this tragedy,” TBF national president Robert Cartlidge said. “I can only imagine their grief and emotion surrounding all of this. It is a shocking turn of events that reminds us all just how precious every single day is.
“To say that the final day weigh-in Friday was a somber experience would be a tremendous understatement, as all anglers and families there were impacted by the loss. TBF staff on site told me there was not a dry eye anywhere at the weigh-in as one after another, every single state federation president in the Southern Division, every single angler, and even the angler who won the Ranger Cup bonus money, EVERYONE who came up on stage pledged to donate their entire prize checks, every single dollar, to Lorenzo’s family’s needs. THAT is what our federation is about.
"We also want to thank all the emergency response personnel, the TBF staff on site and all the state presidents and community volunteers who were pitching in to help our anglers during a time of crisis. I am honored to know these people and to call them friends. This exemplifies what it means to be a member of the federation 'family' and it makes me very proud.”
