Wickliffe, Ky.–Multiple agencies are searching for a man missing after his grocery delivery boat capsized at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at Wickliffe Thursday. The boat from Economy Boat Store is used to deliver groceries to barges.
The boat capsized near the boat ramp at Wickliffe.
Conservation officers with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources responded at 3:40 p.m. on Thursday to a report of a capsized boat at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The operator of the boat was missing after the boat capsized.
According to the press release from the Kentucky Fish & Wildlife, its Conservation Officers assisted the Ballard County Sheriff’s Office, Ballard County Rescue, Carlisle County Rescue, and McCracken County Rescue squads on the scene in recovering the boat and attempting to locate the boat operator.
According to witnesses, 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. While the boat was moored, the boat capsized with the operator on board.
The missing operator of the boat is Tyler Morgan, 23, of LaCenter, Kentucky. Initial reports indicate he was wearing a personal flotation device but it was not zipped or buckled at the time. The boat was recovered with assistance from a crane on a nearby barge. No one else was reported to be on the boat at the time.
The river is currently above flood stage, making the search more difficult.