The search continues for a Lake Manitoba boater who went missing after the boat he was in capsized in a windstorm Monday night.

Dillon Beaulieu, 22, and his friend Rambo Roulette, both from the Sandy Bay First Nation, were setting fishing nets in the lake near Langruth, Man., on Monday evening when a storm blew in.

Dillon Beaulieu, 22, who went missing in Lake Manitoba on Monday, was known in Sandy Bay as a disc jockey at the local radio station. (Facebook)

Strong winds overturned the boat and both men ended up in the water, according to RCMP, which received a call about the capsized vessel just after 8 p.m. CT.

Roulette, 25, made it to shore, but Beaulieu remains missing.

"We were optimistic that if they would find him that they might have a remote chance of reviving him … but our hopes are dwindling now," said Russell Beaulieu, the missing man's uncle.

Roulette told CBC News on Tuesday that the conditions were initially calm on Monday evening, but winds picked up out of nowhere.

Waves as large as houses knocked their small boat further into the lake. Roulette said the waves swept Beaulieu away as he tried to make his way to shore.

Beaulieu could not swim, said Roulette, who himself was in the cold water for nearly an hour before his hands touched the shore and he dragged himself out of the lake.

Roulette was transported to Portage General Hospital and was later released.

'Happy-go-lucky guy'

Beaulieu's extended family members searched along the shore on Tuesday. Volunteer searchers began combing the periphery of the official search zone that afternoon.

"Dillon's a happy-go-lucky guy. He had a job here up to about a month ago working on the reserve," Russell Beaulieu said.

Rambo Roulette, right, said he saw Beaulieu being swept away by the waves as he was trying to swim to shore. (Katie Nicholson/CBC)

"We have a local radio station and he was one of the DJs there. He went by the name of 'Chillin' with Dillon.'"

Beaulieu was thinking of running in the next band council election, according to family members and friends.

Roulette said he has been unable to sleep since the incident, and he hopes his friend will turn up safe.

The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Trenton, Ont., was called for assistance, and a Hercules aircraft was sent from 435 Squadron in Winnipeg to fly over the area.

A rescue boat from Ebb and Flow First Nation Fire Department was also dispatched.

Police have been patrolling the waterfront area near Roads 95 and 96, leading to the lake in the Amaranth and Langruth area, but the man has not been found.

The Civil Air Search and Rescue Association has also joined in the search.