KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The company that owns a duck boat that sank on Table Rock Lake last summer, killing 17 people, announced Thursday that it won't operate the vessels this year because of the ongoing investigation and will instead open a replacement attraction in Branson.
Ripley Entertainment Inc. spokesman Suzanne Smagala-Potts declined to comment on whether the boats will ever float again on the lake, saying the company is focused on 2019 and hasn't "looked in the future of what we may or may not do."
Smagala-Potts said 10 percent of this year's proceeds, with a minimum of $100,000, will be donated to local first responders, such as police and firefighters.
For nearly 50 years, tourists have toured the Branson area on refurbished amphibious vessels originally used by the military during World War II. Ripley purchased the duck boats in 2017. The company suspended operations after the one sank during a storm in July.
Two Arkansans -- Steve Smith, 53, and Lance Smith, 15, both of Osceola -- were among those who died when the duck boat sank.
Steve Smith's daughter, Loren, survived. She was 14 at the time.
Others who died were from Missouri, Indiana and Illinois.
Ripley, based in Orlando, Fla., faces several lawsuits alleging that it launched the doomed boat despite warnings of severe weather.
The boat's captain was indicted on 17 counts accusing him of failing to tell passengers to put on flotation devices or to prepare them to abandon ship even after waves crashed into the boat.
State Desk on 03/25/2019