BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — A federal magistrate judge has recommended that criminal charges be dismissed against three men indicted over a duck boat sinking on a Missouri lake that killed 17 people two summers ago.
KCUR reports that U.S. Magistrate Judge David Rush concluded Friday that charges should be dismissed because Table Rock Lake, where the boat sank in a storm, is not considered a navigable waterway under admiralty law.
A 47-count indictment unsealed in June 2019 accused the general manager of the boat’s operator, Ride the Ducks Branson, and the manager on duty with a variety of neglect and misconduct charges.
An earlier indictment charged the boat’s captain with failure to properly assess incoming weather before launching.
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