On Friday, July 19, 2019 at approximately 9:49 pm., the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office received a call from an individual who stated that he was boating with a friend. He and the friend dove off of their party barge near a cove just North of Mountain Harbor Resort. When they came up, the boat was drifting North away from the two men. Both men began to swim towards the boat. It was during this time that the caller lost contact with the friend. The caller then swam to a shoreline and started hollering for help. Eventually, a boat came and rescued him and at that time he called the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office to report the incident.

The Montgomery County Sheriffs Office, the Arkansas Game and Fish, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Rangers, the Joplin VFD, and the Mt. Ida-South Fork VFD responded to the call. Several boats went to the area and searched the area, but the other individual was not located. The boat was found at the back of a cove with the engine still running with the gear shift in neutral. It is suspected that the wind blew the boat away from the two men.

Search and Rescue operations are going to continue throughout the day if necessary. Sheriff White would like to thank all the agencies and Mountain Harbor Resort for assisting in the search.