Man Rescued After Boat Motor Failure Leads to Water Search on Gravois Arm

Some tense moments in the Gravois Fire District early Tuesday afternoon after receiving a call that an elderly gentleman without his cellphone didn’t return home as expected from an afternoon of fishing.

Chief Dustin Hancock says a full complement of first responders including the highway patrol, a command unit from the Sunrise Beach Fire District and fire boats from the Lake Ozark and Rocky Mount districts hit the water and shoreline near the 8-mile marker to search for the man whose boat experienced mechanical failure and started drifting in the wind.

“It was pretty tough to find him and we found the boat and then we were trying to locate him and luckily he got to a phone where he could call his home. And then we’d left guys there at the house because we never know if someone’s got a return or whatnot. And that gets us the quickest information. But it went really well.”

The man was located a couple hours later and checked out by Mid-MO Ambulance before being given a lift by the Lake Ozark fire boat back to his place on the other side of the lake.

Hancock also says the incident, which could’ve had a very different ending, serves as a reminder of how important it is this time of year to make sure someone knows where you are headed and for how long if you are hitting the water.