A report on a fatal boating accident on Lake Norfork June 20 is expected to be completed no later than mid-July, according to Keith Stephens, chief of communications for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in Little Rock.
The report should contain details of the incident that were not available when the initial press release was issued.
A Baxter County man, 74-year-old Robert Jay “Bob” Louck, Sr., who listed an address along Cranfield Road, died before first responders could transport him from Cranfield Marina.
The upcoming report should shed light on the question of whether a medical condition might have either caused or contributed to the accident.
Louck was reported to have a “faint pulse” when first responders got to him, but then he was reported to have “crashed.” CPR was begun while Louck was still on his boat. It continued until an ambulance from Baxter Health arrived.
Louck was taken to the ambulance where he was found to be deceased and the Baxter County Coroner’s Office was notified.
There was significant damage to the front, side and interior of the pontoon boat.
Investigators reviewed video taken by surveillance cameras at the marina. According to an incident report from the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, Louck was seen coming and going from the marina several times during the day.
Investigators were concerned when on one trip out of the marina, a male passenger was in the boat with Louck. The passenger was not in the boat when it returned the final time.
Those on the scene thought the person might have been thrown into the water if there had been a collision with another craft or some other object.
Louck’s boat began its final trip into the marina about 2:30 p.m. It was picked up on video surveillance cameras coming out of a cove just south of Cranfield Marina.
When only one person was seen aboard, a search was launched in that area by boat and with the Sheriff Office’s helicopter.
About 5 p.m., the passenger was identified and found safe. He had been dropped off at another location, according to a joint press release issued by some of the agencies responding to the accident.
The review of the video tapes taken by security surveillance cameras at the marina showed when Louck’s boat returned on its final trip, the damage was evident and Louck was reported to have appeared “disoriented.”
Authorities are saying the boat may have been damaged in the cove, possibly running into a rock wall, rather than another boat.
In addition, no answer has yet been provided as to why Louck appeared disoriented when returning to the dock for the final time. There is yet no explanation as to why he slowly circled in an area near the marina for about 30 minutes before he headed into a stall on one of the docks.
His boat is also reported to have crashed into another craft parked in a stall.
People seeing Louck come into the marina and hitting the boat in another stall began calling for help.
Louck’s body was sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Little Rock to determine the cause of death.
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