By the Associated Press:
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.
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.
