On 5/26/12 i, indiana conservation officer, responded to a report of a boat that was sinking at monroe reservoir. The initial report stated that a boat was sinking somewhere in a cove, but that was all of the information that was provided. Then information was given that the boat was north of hardin ridge and across from “party cove”. I was in that area upon receiving the call, but i could not locate anything. Then dispatch advised that a boat had set off a flare so they could be located by me. I finally was able to observe a boat with a flare lit directly across the lake from allen's creek. Upon arriving at the scene i found a blue and red boat almost completely submerged in the water, with a little bit of the bow sticking out. There were a couple of boats around the area picking up items from the boat. I spoke with the boats and they advised that they had not seen anyone around the boat. They advised they happened to be passing by and noticed the sunken boat. They started picking up items that had come from the sunken boat. I notified dispatch to contact divers to respond to my location. Several minutes later i was notified by dispatch that the father of the operator of the boat had called in and told them everyone that was on the boat was ok and had been taken to the cutright boat ramp. The boat was in a location that could have made it a hazard to other boaters, so i was able to attach a rope to the boat and pull it closer to shore.
   later that evening i made contact with the owner of the boat and the operator of the boat. Operator advised me that her and some friends had been boating that afternoon and stopped to eat lunch. After they had stopped they anchored the boat and then noticed that there was water in the floorboard of the boat. She stated that the water kept coming in and quickly filled the boat. The boat was almost under when a boat passing by noticed them waving for help and picked them up. The boat then took them to the cutright ramp. I then spoke with owner about the incident. He advised that he had been out on the boat earlier in the day with his daughter and friends, but had gone home early. Owner stated that his daughter had called him and told him that the boat was sinking. Owner then called 911 to get assistance for his daughter and friends. I asked owner if he knew of any problems with the boat and he said he did not know of any. Operator also told me that she was not sure what happened with the boat. They did advise me that they were sure that the drain plugs were installed in the boat.
   on 5/27/12 i met with owner and returned the items that the other boaters had picked up a given to me. I advised him that if he could not get the boat out of the lake we would try to assist him, but it would be after the holiday weekend was over due to the amount of traffic on the lake. He advised that he understood and would try to make arrangements to get it out. On 5/29/12 i was notified by dispatch that owner was able to get the boat out of the lake.
   on 6/1/12 i again spoke with owner to obtain some more information. He advised me that they were working on trying to repair the boat. If they could not get it running again then he estimated the damage to the boat and motor at approximately 7,000 dollars. I asked him if he found what had caused it to sink. He told me the only thing that he could come up with is that the bilge pump had either failed or had not been turned back on. He said that if it gets hot it automatically shuts off and has to be turned back on. He said that if it had shut down his daughter had not turned it back on. 


Bloomington                   