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Tragedy on the Missouri River


Kevin Turner

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A tourney fisherman was killed this morning on the Missouri river near Dakota Dunes, SD. His passenger is in stable condition after 6 hrs of surgery.

We hit dense fog up river about 5 miles from take off. Common sense took a back seat for some anglers who continued up river at 70 plus MPH.

We shut down to idle speed, only to be darn near run over by guys who were navigating by GPS. It was the 1st time I have been truly scared on the water.

I was able to find a rock dike to hide behind till the fog lifted (still hearing the boats fly by at unreal speeds, with zero to 20 feet visiblity).

When the fog lifted, we prepared to leave our secure bunker. Only to see a boater waving to us for help.

The first boat out had slammed into the rock dike at speeds estimated near 80 mph. We didn't even know they had crashed.

It was to late for the driver, a great guy who became a good friend of ours.

His passenger was still alive, but in very grave condition.

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Wow Kevin. Sorry to hear about the tragedy, and the loss of your friend. Sure makes a guy stop and appreciate life, and reflect on being safe at all times.

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Kevin, thanks for letting us know. My family and I will pray for the driver and his family. We will also pray for the healing of the passenger. <><

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KT, that is such a tragedy. I'm so sorry to hear that about your friend. Thanks for sharing that. It will definitely be in my mind every time I go down the river.

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KT, I too am sorry to hear about the loss of your friend (and critical condition of partner). I will keep them (& families) in my prayers as well.

Thanks for sharing the story and is a reminder to us all about the seriousness of safety first. I'm surprised the tourney officials had not postponed the launch/start time for the morning with dense fog like that.

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Prayers being lifted up for comfort for all those involved. Thanks for sharing KT and take care out there fellow rats.

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Man......... My thoughts go out to you all..It is just soo sad. fishermen pray more than anyother. You catch yourself praying for just one more fish or just one big fish before the end of the day. "God I hope that storm goes around us"

God grant that I may live to fish until my dying day And when it comes to my last cast I then most humbly pray That in his mercy I be judged as big enough to keep.

Amen.

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Makes a person think twice about GPS navigating in bad weather/night, going fast and not really knowing whats ahead. Ya caught my attention. Sorry about your friend.

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Thanks guys...

Fog was reported about 5 miles up river. The tourney official announced a 10 minute delay to allow the fog to clear.

I voiced my opinion that 10 minutes was not enough time for the fog to clear and delaying the start was unfair to the anglers who were not going up river. Telling all I was also planning to travel up river.

I shouted to all: IF FOG WAS ENCOUNTERED..SHUT DOWN!

Some anglers did shut down, only to become sitting ducks bobbing helplessly in the river.

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Sorry to hear about the tragedy and hoping for the best for the passenger. We all need an occasional reminder to keep safe in poor conditions or unfamiliar water.

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KT,

Sorry to hear about the tragedy. My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected.

Kudos to you for voicing your concerns about the situation.

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In the Rivers Edge tournament last year there was some really nasty fog we hit at takeoff going north on the river. We slowed way down but several boats went by way too fast. Someone could have been easily hurt or seriously injured if they would have hit something.

Hopefully everyone learns a valuable lesson from this tragedy.

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KT,

Very sorry to hear that you had too experience such a tragedy. My dad constistently fishes Lake Michigan for Salmon, all of the big charters including himself are equiped with Radar, and even then they take it really easy during dense fog conditions. My prayers go out to the victims families on this.

-Mike

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Oh my God.

Its hard to imagine such a tragedy.

My prayers to all the victims and their families.

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I have never beel so scared on the water as we started the Cat's Incredible Tournament in 2003. I can still feel the terror and can relate. You take care KT.

I can not get any pics to show up on here any more but this link will take you to that very view that started the horror for us. We were only about 30 feet from the officials boat on this pic and you can hardly see them.

a>

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I've never spent so many days on the river, in the fog, and at night as I have this summer.

The way I see it...

#1- The river commands your attention.

#2- The fog is no place for fast moving vehicles.

You put these 2 elements together and you really, really have to be careful of what you are doing. GPS or not, there are just too many obstacles, both fixed and moving that need to be observed and avoided.

You are correct when you describe this situation as a tragedy. To me, its unthinkable, undescribable, unfortunate... Perhaps others posting before me have described it better than I could.

God bless the driver, passenger, family, and all people affected by this incident.

Be careful folks.

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Update & correction. I was mistaken on who was driving. It was a difficult situation.

The passenger was killed on impact. The driver has been thru 12 hrs of surgery with more to come. Internal injuries have been stabilized. Sadly, he has very serious facial injuries and has lost the sight in one, maybe both eyes.

We can only hope he has the will power to pull through. My thoughts are with him and all families involved. Kevin

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Kevin, I've never been directly involved in such a tragedy, but I can only imagine how horrific it was, and still is. It's quite understandable that there was some confusion in a situation like that. Thank God you and your partner were there to assist, your actions may very well have saved the life of the driver.

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