MO State HS Sports
Ride The Ducks boat
Ride The Ducks Boat raised from the bottom of Table Rock Lake in Branson (courtesy: MSHP)

State will temporarily stay proceedings in duck boat case

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt says his office will temporarily halt state proceedings against the owners of a duck boat that sank on a Missouri lake last summer, killing 17 people.

Schmitt announced Thursday he has agreed to a temporary order to stay state proceedings against Ripley Entertainment until federal cases are resolved.

The amphibious vehicle sank July 19, 2018, at Table Rock Lake near Branson after it entered the lake despite severe weather warnings.

Ripley Entertainment, which owns Branson Duck Vehicles, doesn’t plan to operate the duck boats this year.

Schmitt said in a news release that an agreement signed Tuesday between his office and Branson Duck Vehicles requires the company to give the state a 90-day notice if it intends to operate the boats after this year. If that happens, the state’s investigation would resume.

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