Vessel was drifting down the river, as they had the day before bass fishing just above Copper Creek, they struck a partially submerged rock close to the bank.  The bow of the boat was facing the shore drifting back at an angle almost 45 degrees.  It grounded the boat on the rock, causing the boat to lurch and throw the occupants on the bow overboard.  The operator and passenger were on the bow of the boat.  The passenger stated that they went about ten to fifteen feet in the air before hitting the water.  The passenger indicated that the current was so fast that even though he was about fifteen feet from shore, there was no way he could swim to it.  The passenger said that the operator came up, and then disappeared below the water.  Neither party had a life jacket on.  The passenger was able to be retrieved by the other passengers that were also on the boat.  Passenger 4 took control of the boat to get it freed from the rock and was able to pilot it over to passenger 1 and throw a life jacket to him.  They were unable to do the same for the operator.  The body of the boat operator was discovered 2 weeks later.
Riggins                       