The search for a missing boater continued in Ballard County Friday morning.
Region 1 Administrative Sergeant Daniel Richardson with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources identified the missing boater Friday morning as 23-year old Tyler Morgan of LaCenter.
According to Sgt. Richardson, conservation officers responded to the report of a capsized boat at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers around 3:40 Thursday afternoon. He says Morgan, the operator of the boat, was missing after the boat capsized.
Witnesses reportedly told officers a boat owned by Economy Boat Store was several miles upstream from the Wickliffe boat ramp and had dropped a person off onto a barge. They said while the boat was moored, it capsized with the operator on board.
Sgt. Richardson says early reports indicate Morgan was wearing a personal floatation device but it was not zipped or buckled at the time. Officers recovered the boat with assistance from a crane on a nearby barge. He notes no one else was on the boat when it capsized.
Sgt. Richardson says the river is currently above flood stage, making the search more difficult.
Conservation officers are assisting the Ballard County Sheriff’s Office, Ballard County Rescue, Carlisle County Rescue, and McCracken County Rescue squads as the search continues.
