3 men charged over 2018 fatal Missouri tourist boat accident

A local prosecutor on Friday filed a total of 63 felony criminal charges against three employees over a July 2018 tourist boat accident on a Missouri lake that killed 17 people.

The charges were filed in Stone County against the captain, the general manager and the manager on duty the day of the accident for the Ride the Ducks attraction on Table Rock Lake near the tourist mecca of Branson.

The charges were announced by County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Selby and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.

The charges against captain Kenneth Scott McKee, of Verona, general manager Curtis Lanham, of Galena, and manager on duty Charles Baltzell, of Kirbyville, came seven months after a federal judge dismissed charges filed by federal prosecutors, concluding that they did not have jurisdiction.

McKee faces 29 charges, including 17 charges of first-degree involuntary manslaughter. An affidavit from a Missouri Highway Patrol sergeant accuses him of failing to exercise his duties as a licensed captain by taking his amphibious vehicle onto the lake during a thunderstorm.

Baltzell and Lanham face 17 charges each of first-degree involuntary manslaughter. They are accused of failing communicate weather conditions and failing to cease operations during a severe thunderstorm warning.

The dead included nine members of one family from Indianapolis. Other victims were from Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas.

SportsPlus

life

SW La. nightlife calendar: There’s always something to do

Local News

Jeff Davis to advertise for position of 911 director

Crime

24-year-old will spend life behind bars for Sherry Street shooting

Crime

7/26: Calcasieu Parish Sheriff announces arrest list

Local News

Iowa Council grants variance for daiquiri vendor near library

Local News

Kennedy files for ballot access in Louisiana

Crime

Welsh man gets maximum 20-year sentence after guilty plea to drug charges

Local News

Four cases of West Nile neuroinvasive disease found in La.

life

VIDEO: TrashFormer at work

life

PHOTO GALLERY: Christmas in July

life

Sowela’s Caitlyn Dionne earns gold at national competition

Local News

Lake Charles native achieves one-star rank, promoted to brigadier general

Business

Jeff Davis ITEP committee approves request for solar project

Local News

Secretary of State Landry wants La. to be first in election integrity

Local News

Meet the Trashformer: McNeese students build trash-grabbing robot

Local News

Man on motorized bike fatally struck in Sulphur

McNeese Sports

Cowboys hope competition equals wins

Local News

Netanyahu will meet with Biden, Harris at a crucial moment for US, Israel

life

Cameron Fishing Fest: Get ready to reel in plenty of fun Aug. 1-3

Local News

Higgins announces $3.7M for three La. airports

Local News

Excessive rainfall, flooding on today’s docket

Local News

Israel-Hamas war latest: Netanyahu addresses Congress, vows to achieve ‘total victory’

Local News

Biden delivers solemn call to defend democracy as he lays out his reasons for quitting race

Local News

High-speed chase ends in crash