Court Dismisses All Charges Against Crew of Stretch Duck 07

ntsb — Stretch Duck 07 after its salvage from Table Rock Lake (NTSB)

A judge in Stone County, Missouri has dismissed state criminal charges against three employees of Ride the Ducks Branson in connection with the deadly sinking on Table Rock Lake in 2018.

Prosecutors had filed 63 charges against the captain of the Stretch Duck 07, Capt. Kenneth Scott McKee, and two managers, Charles Baltzell and Curtis Lanham. The men were accused of involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, among other charges.

On July 19, 2018, the DUKW boat Stretch Duck 07 sank during a sudden wind storm on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri, killing 17 out of the 31 people on board. High winds and waves, limited reserve buoyancy and a hard-to-escape canopy were among the causes for the casualties, according to an NTSB investigation.

While Judge Alan Blankenship acknowledged that the sinking was tragic, he found that "the defendants did not have enough weather information to appreciate the threat of high winds," though they were aware of an oncoming storm. "I do not feel that the evidence supports those levels of criminal intent as defined by statute,” Blankenship ruled.

An attorney for a relative of victims of the sinking called the decision "indefensible." In a statement to local media, attorney Andrew Duffy accused the operators of attempting to "beat the storm" so that they would not have to refund passengers' fares, resulting in a sinking and 17 fatalities. "To have no one criminally responsible for the senseless, easily preventable loss of life would be grossly unjust," Duffy said.

The ruling may not be the end of the saga, however. Missouri's attorney general, Eric Schmitt, said in a statement that his office will continue to examine its options.

"We’re disappointed in the Court’s decision, but we’re not giving up in our pursuit of justice on behalf of the 17 victims and their families. Our office hopes to refile charges and continue this case, and will confer with the local prosecutor to that end in the coming days," said Schimitt.

Federal charges of seaman's manslaughter against Capt. McKee have already been dropped. In September 2020, a federal district judge ruled that the case should be tried in state courts because Table Rock Lake is not a "navigable waterway" as defined in U.S. admiralty law, and federal courts therefore lack jurisdiction.