WASHINGTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and U.S. Coast Guard are investigating an accident on the Ohio River with one person reportedly unaccounted for.
The initial report around 1:30 p.m. was that two pleasure craft had been struck by a barge, said Wood County Sheriff Rick Woodyard.
State and federal authorities took the lead on the investigation. DNR Game Warden Jim Thaxton said the incident occurred at the 195 mile marker of the Ohio River but additional details were not immediately available.
From the bank of the Ohio off DuPont Road, a towboat with multiple bulk material barges was visible, along with smaller vessels marked as belonging to the DNR and the Blennerhassett Volunteer Fire Department.
The towboat was named as the Warren W. Hines, part of the Hines Furlong Line. A representative at the company’s Paducah, Ky., operations office said she could not comment at this time, pending the outcome of the investigation.
