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BRANSON, Mo. — A federal criminal investigation into a deadly duck boat sinking on a Missouri lake was initiated after the U.S. Coast Guard determined the 17 deaths resulted from “misconduct, negligence or inattention to the duties” by the captain of the duck boat, according to a court document filed Wednesday.
The new investigation also is looking at another duck boat captain and officials at the company that operates the tourist ride, the court document says.
There are several investigations into the July 19 incident, including the state of Missouri, which is also looking into criminal liability, and the National Transportation Safety Board, which is trying to determine what caused the sinking.
Survivors of some of the people who died are, in four cases, suing Ripley Entertainment, which runs the duck boat tours called Ride the Ducks Branson.
On Wednesday, the U.S. government attached a motion to the civil cases, asking that a court rule that federal investigators be allowed first to talk to the pertinent witnesses and participants in the case.
“To avoid prejudice to its criminal investigation and any directly related criminal prosecution, the Government seeks a stay of discovery in this action until its criminal investigation and any directly related criminal proceedings are resolved,” the motion said.
The motion says the Coast Guard notified the U.S. Attorney’s Office of its preliminary probable cause determination on August 13.
That inquiry determined the deaths “resulted from the misconduct, negligence, or inattention to the duties of the captain of the vessel at the time of the sinking, which is a violation of federal criminal law,” according to the court document.
The U.S. attorney’s investigation is in its early stages and “several agents/employees/officers of Ripley already have been notified that they …
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