Arraignment Set in Refiling of Duck Boat Charges

Three men who are charged in connection with 17 deaths as the result of the 2018 Duck Boat sinking are scheduled for an arraignment in May.

The full story from Carrie Winchell, Ozarks First:

Former Captain Kenneth McKee, General Manager Curtis Lanham and manager Charles Baltzell were all on duty when a tourist duck boat sank on Table Rock Lake during a severe thunderstorm in July 2018.

McKee, Lanham, and Baltzell are facing charges for the second time in the case. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office refiled charges on April 13, 2022 about a week after a judge dismissed charges filed by the Stone County Prosecutor.

The charges filed in this second case are the same as the first. All three men are charged with 17 counts each of Involuntary Manslaughter of the First Degree. The captain is facing an additional 12 counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

The judge in the first case said he dismissed the first round of charges because he did not believe there was enough evidence to prove criminal contempt on the part of the defendants.

McKee, Lanham, and Baltzell are scheduled to appear in a Stone County courtroom on May 26 for an arraignment hearing in the case.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt shared the following statement after filing the 2022 charges: “As I’ve said previously, my Office is committed to fighting for justice on behalf of the 17 people that were tragically killed in 2018 – that’s why we re-filed the charges in this case.”