On Thursday, September 17, 2020 at approximately 5:42 PM the 9-1-1 Center received a call of a possible boating accident on the White River near Buford Spur with one man in the water. The Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, Arkansas Game and Fish Officers, and fire/rescue personnel were dispatched, and a search for the victim was undertaken.
The missing man’s son told authorities that they had put the boat in the water at Buford Spur. His father, RICHARD CARPENTER, was going to motor the boat to where they were staying at nearby on Cameron Trail. Once the boat was in the water, the father was unable to get the motor started because there was rope caught up in the prop. He attempted to use the trolling motor instead, but the current was too swift to make headway. The son saw his father trying to clear the rope from the prop, but then lost sight of him. When he next saw the boat, his father was not in it.
Authorities located the boat just south of Crooked Creek. A rope was caught up in the motor, and the boat was hung upon a tree limb but did not appear to be damaged. At approximately 7:16 PM, rescue personnel with the Norfork Fire Department located the body of the victim in the water about 50 yards from where his boat was stuck. The body was recovered and taken to the Rim Shoals access area. EMS was on scene there, but the victim was deceased. The Baxter County Coroner was then called to the scene to take possession of the body. The victim was 75 year old RICHARD LEE CARPENTER of Pleasanton, Kansas.
