Three charged in 2018 Missouri duck boat sinking

Three men are being charged after a Missouri duck boat sank in 2018 and killed 17 people during a thunderstorm.

Captain Kenneth Scott McKee, general manager Curtis Lanham and manager on duty Charles Baltzell have a combined total of 63 felony charges for the incident that took place on the Ride the Ducks attraction on Table Rock Lake, The Associated Press reported.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt will be taking up the case and announced the charges with County Prosecuting Attorney Matt Selby on Friday.

Fourteen people survived in 2018 but 17 people died, including a family and five children.

The affidavit in Stone County cites a Missouri Highway Patrol sergeant who says McKee should have known better than to go out on the water during a thunderstorm, according to the AP. Although the waters were clear at the start, they quickly turned violent.

“We are reviewing the charges, expect not-guilty pleas will be entered and will continue to vigorously represent Mr. McKee,” J.R. Hobbs and Marilyn B. Keller, attorneys for the captain, said.

McKee is facing 29 charges including first-degree involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. Baltzell and Lanham are each facing 17 charges of first-degree involuntary manslaughter. 

The lawsuit comes after a federal judge dropped the charges with federal prosecutors saying it was outside the federal prosecutors’ jurisdiction.

Tia Coleman, whose husband and children died in the incident, said her “prayers had been answered” with the three men getting charged, the AP noted.