Boater found dead in southwest Ohio, crews still searching for 2nd person

RIPLEY, Ohio — One person was found dead Monday morning and another person is still missing after a boat crashed Saturday night on the Ohio River near Ripley, Ohio.

Officials with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said a large boat crashed into a pontoon boat with two people fishing on board around 10 p.m. Saturday, according to our news partner, WCPO-TV. The two people fishing on the pontoon boat fell into the river after the crash, the Ripley Fire Department said.

An ODNR representative said William Harper and Daryl Kilgore, both 49, were the two people from the pontoon boat who went overboard. Officials have identified neither the person recovered nor who is still missing.

Three people from the larger boat were found after the crash; one was airlifted to a nearby hospital.

Ripley fire crews searched late into the night for the two missing boaters. The search continued Sunday starting at 10 a.m. Members of Ohio Task Force 1, based in Vandalia near Dayton, joined the search Sunday afternoon.

Witnesses said the pontoon had operating lights on the outside of the boat.

Ripley Fire Department and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife are handling the investigation.

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