GALINA, MO – A judge on Tuesday dismissed criminal charges against three men who were prosecuted after a tourist boat sank and killed 17 people during the 2018 Missouri storm.
The boat was swept away by waves caused by strong winds shortly after entering Table Rock Lake near Branson on July 19, 2018. Riders from Missouri, Indiana, Illinois and Arkansas were killed. 14 people survived.
Last year, prosecutors indicted Kenneth Scott Mackey, 54, the captain of the ship known as the Duck Boat. Lanham, 39, general manager of Ride the Ducks in Branson; and Charles V. Baltzell, 79, an operations supervisor who was a duty manager on the night the boat sank, with 17 counts of first-degree manslaughter.
While Stone County Judge Alan Blankenship said the men – amphibious boat staff – were aware of the storm, he said there was no evidence they knew of a “storm front.” Springfield’s NBC affiliate KYTV reported.
The defendants’ lawyers said they were grateful and respected the judge’s decision.
“This has been a tragedy for all involved,” said James Hobbs, McKee’s attorney.
The Missouri Attorney General’s office is considering re-charges.
“We are disappointed with the court’s decision, but we have not given up in our pursuit of justice on behalf of the 17 victims and their families,” court spokesman Chris Noel said in a statement. “Our office hopes to re-charge and pursue this case, and will consult with the local attorney general to that end in the coming days.”
When the criminal charges were filed last year, an affidavit from a detective accused Mackey of taking the boat to the lake despite fears of an approaching storm. Lanham and Baltzel are accused of failing to report weather conditions and halting operations after issuing a severe thunderstorm warning.
During the initial hearing, the defendants’ lawyers said the men were unaware that a thunderstorm warning had been issued and that a meteorologist at a nearby television station was urging people to leave the lake immediately, Kansas City Star mentioned.
The certification showed that employees at Ride the Ducks, which operated a popular tourist attraction, were typically checking radar from Earth Networks, a private meteorological company, for weather conditions. Radar showed that rain, not wind, was expected that day on the lake.
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