A 54-year-old Hickory Creek man remains missing, after he was last seen Monday on his marooned sailboat on Lewisville Lake, said Tom Reedy, of the Denton County Sheriff’s Office.

Mike Wells Barton was last seen at 10:01 a.m. on Monday on his sailboat by a boat towing service, according to sheriff’s office reports.

After three days of searching, the sheriff’s office has suspended the search for Barton.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife department is searching visible areas only, said Capt. Neal Bieler, with the parks and wildlife department.

“We’ve been looking for somebody, but we don’t know of his true whereabouts,” Bieler said. “There is no confirmed drowning, and we’re still investigating and looking. Nothing is confirmed; it points to that, but we don’t know for sure.”

On Monday, about an hour after Barton was last seen, a Denton County Sheriff’s deputy who was dispatched to the area saw the sailboat, but no one was aboard, according to reports. The deputy noted the lake had 3- to 4-foot waves on Monday.

On Tuesday, Barton’s family filled out a missing person’s report after the Lake Dallas marina reported that Barton’s truck had been left parked in their lot overnight.

Barton’s boat engine wasn’t working Monday, and so a friend called a boat towing service to pick him up, according to the sheriff’s office report.

The towing company arrived and spoke with Barton, saying they were unable to safely tow because of the weather. The company said they offered Barton a ride to shore and to call another tow company.

Barton reportedly said he didn’t want to leave his boat, according to reports.

The deputy who later saw the sailboat said he didn’t see Barton and surmised that the boat might have broken loose from the marina and drifted to the north shore, according to the report.

The sheriff’s office and Texas Parks and Wildlife used boats and search dogs to comb the area and drag the lake on Monday, but nothing was found.

The dive team from Lewisville was also unable to locate any evidence that would point toward a drowning, according to police documents.

Barton is the vice president of sales for Armko Industries, Inc. of Flower Mound and family members were unavailable for comment early Friday afternoon.

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.