The body of a 20-year-old man who went missing after a Monday morning water emergency on the Ohio River was recovered around 12:38 p.m. Tuesday.
The name will be released by the coroner at a later time and an autopsy will be performed.
According to Owensboro Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Leonard, the victim was found in the general vicinity he was last seen.
“A combination of efforts went into the effect of locating the victim,” Leonard said. “It was sadly a success. We had a lot of agencies looking not only in the water but on the shoreline in the unlikely event that he made it to shore. We covered all of our bases with this and a success on the side of recovery and is a sad situation for all involved.”
Crews searched for more than 12 hours Monday and resumed their search at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
According to reports, the incident occurred just before 2 a.m. Monday when a boat carrying five individuals began taking on water. Four individuals were able to swim safely to shore.
Officials on Tuesday said the incident happened near the Owensboro Convention Center. The boat, which was only partially submerged, was found around 5:30 a.m. near Owensboro Riverport Authority.
The incident is being investigated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
“Everything is preliminary , but right now we have at least made a recovery of the boat and the body,” said Tracy Bell, Sergeant with Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “We still need to investigate and take a good look at the boat to make sure there weren’t any equipment malfunctions or boat damage that might have caused the accident. We do not really expect anything foul in this situation, but we’re certainly going to rule it out through autopsy and further investigation.”
Bell said it would take some time — anywhere from two weeks to two months — before a full the report would be finished because the labs are busy.
Also assisting were Daviess County’s Fire Department, Emergency Management Agency and Sheriff’s Office; Owensboro Police Department; Henderson Fire Department; and American Red Cross.
