2 children dead, man missing after boating accident on Lake Ouachita, authorities say

A NEBCO Fire Department truck is shown in this 2017 file photo.
A NEBCO Fire Department truck is shown in this 2017 file photo.

A 5-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl are dead and a search is underway for their father after a boating accident on Lake Ouachita, authorities said on Thursday.

Capt. Todd Johnson of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission confirmed Thursday morning that five of the agency’s boats were out searching for the missing boater.

The agency received a call at 6 p.m. Wednesday that a fisherman in the area had found two bodies in the water, spokesman Keith Stephens said in an email.

The bodies were those of a 5-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl, the spokesman said. Both were found with their life jackets on.

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The vessel, a 14-foot flat bottom boat, was found partially submerged in the Yorktown Bay area of Lake Ouachita near the state park, according to Stephens.

Deputies are currently looking for another adult who may have been in the boat, according to the agency.

The Garland County sheriff’s office was also at the scene of the accident. The agency’s criminal investigation division, as well as its patrol division and marine patrol, were assisting the Game and Fish Commission with the investigation of the accident, sheriff’s office spokeswoman deputy Courtney Kizer said. According to Kizer, authorities believe the accident happened sometime Wednesday.

Information for this article was contributed by the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record.

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