UPDATE 3/4 AT 9:30 AM: Search efforts have continued Friday for 23-year-old Tyler Morgan of LaCenter, Kentucky. Early reports suggest he was wearing a personal flotation device but it was not zipped or buckled at the time.
According to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, the Mississippi River is currently above flood stage, making the search more difficult.
BALLARD COUNTY, KY — Multiple agencies are on the scene after a boat overturned in the Mississippi River in the Wickliffe, Kentucky, area. Crews are searching for a man who disappeared when the boat capsized, The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife says.
Ballard County Emergency Management Director Travis Holder confirmed multiple agencies have responded after the boat overturned. Sgt. Daniel Richardson with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife says the grocery delivery boat, called the Economy Boat Store, capsized in the Mississippi River at River Circle Drive in Wickliffe. He says the call about the capsized vessel came in around 3:30 p.m.
McCracken County Emergency Management Director Rob Estes said responders with his office and the McCracken County Rescue Squad are assisting at the scene. Richardson says three Department of Fish and Wildlife units are also helping search for the missing boater, as is the Ballard County Sheriff’s Office. He says mutual aid was also called in from Carlisle County.
Richardson says the river is very high at this time, and has a flow of 7 knots, “which is a pretty fast current.”
Richardson says the boat is like a 24-hour grocery store for barges on the river. The Economy Boat Store is owned by PTL Marine.