*UPDATE - Friday, 12 p.m.*

Authorities have still not located the body of Jim Eachus of Buchanan Dam, the pilot of the plane that crashed at Inks Lake on Wednesday.

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*UPDATE - Thursday, 4 p.m.*

Authorities are still searching for the pilot whose plane crashed at Inks Lake on Wednesday.

J.R. Long, officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said he is confident the pilot will be found, but the search has been difficult because the visibility in the water is low.

"It's real murky," Long said. "The divers said they had their lights and everything down there, and they couldn't even see their light, it was so murky."

Long said authorities will continue searching for the pilot because there is a high probability his body is near the crash site. Long said the water currents in Inks Lake have not been strong enough to conceivably move his body too far away from the site.

Authorities began searching at 7 a.m. this morning and will continue until sunset. They have been using ropes to drag the bottom of the lake, and have been using sonar equipment.

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*UPDATE - Thursday, 1 p.m.*

The pilot from the plane crash at Inks Lake on Wednesday is still missing, authorities said Thursday afternoon.

More than a half dozen search boats from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Lower Colorado River Authority and the Texas Game Warden have been combing the waters of the lake since Wednesday afternoon.

The plane, however, was retrieved from the lake by Federal Aviation Administration officials Wednesday night around 6 p.m.

"It was pulled up last night and taken to a secure location for further investigation," said John Neff, Llano County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy.

DPS officers at the crash scene declined to comment other than to say that the investigation is ongoing. Officials are using sonar equipment in an attempt to find the pilot.

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A Llano County man is missing and presumed dead after crashing his plane into the waters of Inks Lake Wednesday afternoon.

Jim Eachus of Buchanan Dam, owner of the yellow Avid Catalina plane, is the presumed victim of the crash. The home-built, single-engine amphibious aircraft--classified as "experimental" by the FAA--took off from the lake near Camp Longhorn at 1:30 p.m.

Moments later, the plane's wingtip skimmed the water, sending the aircraft into a cartwheel, according to Don Reece, a witness who told reporters he met Eachus just hours before the accident.

The plane floated upside down after the crash, mostly submerged, and remained tied down in the water as teams continued to search the lake after 6 p.m.

Witnesses told authorities the pilot surfaced immediately after the crash, struggled to stay afloat, and then disappeared in the water, according to Lynn Lunsford, FAA spokesperson.

Rescue workers in a small boat supported the plane’s tail as divers scoured the scene, about one-half mile upstream from Inks Dam and 13 miles west of Burnet.

A Department of Public Safety helicopter assisted with the search.

First responders included Llano and Burnet County sheriff’s deputies and Buchanan Volunteer Fire and Rescue.

Officials designated the area a crime scene soon after the crash, presumably to keep a distance from onlookers and media.

For additional details, continue to watch www.highlandernews.com www.burnetbulletin.com or www.llanocj.com . For the more complete report in the Highland Lakes, see the Friday Highlander.