Body of missing man pulled from Ohio River 2 days after boat crash at McAlpine Dam

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Officials have confirmed the body of a Louisville man who’s been missing for two days after a boat crash in the Ohio River has been found.

Friends and rescue crews have been searching the river for 26-year-old Donnie Watson since the crash Monday night.

Wednesday, a friend spotted his body and crews recovered him from the Ohio River, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources confirmed.

Watson’s body was found around 4:40 p.m. floating just down river of the Sherman Minton bridge, officials said.

The Floyd County Coroner’s Office said his preliminary cause of death is accidental drowning.

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Watson was in a boat with Levell Washington when the engine malfunctioned and the swift current swept them through the dam around 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Both men were thrown overboard. Washington was able to call for help after going through the dam and was pulled from the river minutes later. He is OK and has been helping with the search.

Investigators said Washington recently purchased the boat and Monday was the first time he took it out on the Ohio River.

Officials urge people to use caution on the river right now, as it is high and fast.

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