Charges refiled in duck boat deaths

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has refiled criminal charges against three men involved in the sinking of a tourist boat that killed 17 people in 2018, including two Arkansans.

A judge dismissed first-degree involuntary manslaughter charges April 5 against Kenneth McKee, Curtis Lanham and Charles Baltzell related to the sinking of a tourist boat on Table Rock Lake near Branson. Schmitt refiled the involuntary manslaughter charges two days later.

Schmitt said in a statement Wednesday that his office is committed to seeking justice for the victims, who included an Arkansas father and son — Steve Smith, 53, and Lance Smith, 15, of Osceola — as well as riders from Missouri, Indiana and Illinois. Fourteen people survived.

The vehicle, known as a duck boat, sank during a storm shortly after it entered Table Rock Lake. Prosecutors said the tourist boat went into the lake despite warnings of storms in the area. The boat sank after it was swamped by waves caused by the winds.

On April 5, Stone County Judge Alan Blankenship dismissed first-degree involuntary manslaughter charges against Kenneth Scott McKee, 54, the captain of the boat; Curtis P. Lanham, 39, general manager at Ride the Ducks in Branson; and Charles V. Baltzell, 79, the operations supervisor who was a manager on duty when the boat sank.

Two days later, Schmitt refiled 17 involuntary manslaughter charges against each of the men. McKee also faces 12 counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Attorneys for the three defendants have argued that the men were not aware of the severity of the storm and did not intentionally put their passengers in danger. When he dismissed the charges, Blankenship said there was no evidence the men knew about the strong winds associated with the storm.

When the criminal charges were filed last year, an affidavit from an investigator said McKee ignored concerns about an approaching storm when he took the boat onto the lake. Lanham and Baltzell were accused of failing to communicate weather conditions and to stop operations after a severe thunderstorm warning was issued.

The duck boats, which operate on land and water, were a longtime popular attraction in the tourist town of Branson. The ride closed down after the tragedy, and the boats have not returned to the lake.