Two Captains of Duck Boats Under Investigation

According to federal court documents filed Wednesday, two captains of the Ride the Ducks Boats at Table Rock Lake near Branson are under investigation.

In a story from the Kansas City Star, the captain of the the sunken Stretch Duck 07, Kenneth Scott McKee, and the captain of Stretch Duck 54, Barry King, are under investigation for allegedly operating the vessel in a manner that endangered lives.

On July 17, seventeen of the 31 passengers died on Duck 07 when it sank in Table Rock Lake. The other duck boat in the water, Duck 54, safely returned to the shore.

A nearby boat, the Showboat Branson Belle, was docked at the time of the storm that hit the lake. A cellphone video was taken of the struggling duck boat in the the water.

According to the National Weather Service, a severe thunderstorm warning, specifically for Table Rock Lake, had been issued that evening. With that warning winds could have possibly exceeded 60 mph. It was documented that the winds actually hit 73 mph with waves of more than three feet.