The Missouri Water Patrol reports three people died on Missouri waterways over the holiday weekend.
Ashley Gustafson, age 16, of Hollister, died early this morning after being pulled out of four feet of water at Table Rock Lake Sunday. Gustafson was reportedly swimming with her family when it was discovered she was missing. Her brother, Cody Underwood, found her on the bottom of the lake. She was taken to Skaggs medical center in Branson before being transferred to St. John’s in Springfield. Sources close to the family say Gustafson had a history of suffering from seizures.
Sgt. Jerry Callahan with the Missouri Water Patrol says one man and a juvenile were killed on the Current River in a separate incident when two boats collided.
Josh Burson, 25, and Jerry Mote, 11, both of Poplar Bluff, were killed in that collision, which threw them both overboard. Mote’s body was just found this afternoon about a half mile from where the crash happened. Callahan says his body was found caught in a root wad.
Callahan says alcohol is being considered a contributing factor in the crash.
Callahan says fatalities and accident numbers this year are close to those reported last year. But he says 33 people were arrested for boating while intoxicated, a big drop from the 54 arrested in 2008.
For more details, visit the Missouri Water Patrol’s Web site, where incident reports are listed: www.mswp.dps.mo.gov
Sgt. Jerry Callahan talks about weekend accidents [Download/listen Mp3 – 3 minutes]
