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Boat Accidents and Disasters

One person missing after boat capsizes in high winds on Ohio's Hoover Reservoir

The Columbus Dispatch
High winds capsized a small boat Saturday afternoon on Hoover Reservoir, seen here in this photo looking toward the Hoover Dam. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said one person was rescued but the other remained missing Saturday when bad weather forced authorities to call off the search.  The search was expected to resume Sunday with more favorable weather conditions.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Authorities had resumed the search Sunday to recover one person still missing after high winds Saturday afternoon capsized a small boat on the Hoover Reservoir in Blendon Township near Westerville, north of Columbus, Ohio.

The Columbus Police Dive Team was at the reservoir Sunday, said Stephanie O'Grady, spokesperson for the the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, whose watercraft officers were assisting in the search on Saturday.

The boat with two people aboard capsized just after 2 p.m. Saturday due to high winds that roared through the area in connection with a passing storm front.

The 16-17-foot "Jon" boat, a flat-bottomed craft used for fishing and hunting, was not far from shore when "the wind started filling the boat with water, the boat capsized and the occupants started to swim to shore," said Melanie Amato, spokesperson for Columbus police, which has jurisdiction over the reservoir.

Search for missing person continues

The person who made it to shore explained to authorities that they saw the other person submerge and not come up.

The search for the missing person had to be suspended Saturday due to bad weather conditions, ODNR said. The Columbus police dive team was searching Sunday in 6-10 feet of cold water that had been "stirred up" by the wind and waves Saturday, Amato said.

"We will continue into the evening until we find a body," she said.

The two people in the boat may have been part of a fishing tournament. The Hoover Cats fishing club had scheduled an all-day tournament Saturday, according to the group's Facebook page, though attempts by The Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, to confirm the tournament was held were unsuccessful.

What to know about the Hoover Reservoir 

Hoover Reservoir is one of three water supply reservoirs for the city of Columbus and was created by construction of the Hoover Dam on Big Walnut Creek. Because it is a water supply reservoir, watercraft are limited to power boats no more than 22 feet in length with a maximum 10 horsepower. Sail boats are limited to 25 feet in length.

ODNR reminds watercraft operators to check local weather conditions and advisories before venturing out onto any bodies of water, and to wear a life jacket.

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