RedactedNarrative: On 5/16/14 at approximately 4:45 pm, I, CPO, was notified by the ISP dispatch to contact Perry County Sheriff''s Office. I called the Perry Co dispatch. The dispatch stated that a subject had come to their office and advised that he had been in a boat accident. The dispatcher gave me a phone number to contact SUBJECT. I contacted SUBJECT who was on his way back home to Collinsville. I asked SUBJECT to give me a quick run down of what had happened this afternoon. He stated that his brother in law and him had been fishing on Wesseln Lake when they had struck a submerged object with their motor. He thought that he had damaged the transom because the boat took on water very quickly and sank. They were able to get to shore and walk back to their vehicle. They then went to the Perry Co Sheriffs Dept to report that their boat was still in the water. SUBJECT stated that he was planning on coming back tomorrow to retrieve his boat. I told him that I would meet him in the morning at the lake to get his information to file a report. 
  
  On 5/17/14 at approximately 9:00 am, I met with SUBJECT. He stated that OPERATOR was already out on the lake assessing the damage to the boat. I asked SUBJECT if he could tell me exactly what had happened. SUBJECT stated that they had been out fishing on the far west end of Wesseln Lake. They had decided to find a different spot. SUBJECT was in the front and OPERATOR was in the back operating the boat. They were headed back east and on plane when they struck a submerged object in the water. SUBJECT stated he remembered yelling back to OPERATOR that they were getting into weeds when they hit the object. SUBJECT said that he was ejected from the boat while OPERATOR was thrown forward into the boat. Whatever they had hit had stopped the boat completely. OPERATOR threw a Type 4 device to SUBJECT who then swam back to the boat. SUBJECT said that he tried to pull himself up and over the side back into the boat but that when he did the boat started to sink and flipped over. SUBJECT and OPERATOR were both in the water at this point. They were able to get to the north shoreline and climb out of the water. The boat was upside down and only the bow was sticking up and out of the water. SUBJECT said that they then walked back to the vehicle and drove to the sheriff''s office. I gave SUBJECT a statement form to fill which is attached to this report. 
  
  I then told SUBJECT that CPOT and I were going to go out in my boat to the scene of the accident. I asked SUBJECT to come along with us so that he could show us where the accident had taken place. We then proceeded to the location of the boat. 
  
  We arrived at the boat where OPERATOR and some of his friends were in the process of trying to get the boat right side up again. I took a GPS reading of where the boat was located at the time. The area was covered with weeds. It was hard to see what the boat may have struck due to the vegetative cover. One of the subjects assisting in the recovery, who was in the water with the boat, was only in about waist deep water. He stated that he had felt several large rocks while walking around. I also took some pictures of the boat in the water as well. While the boat was still upside down. I was able to see the hull of the boat. Approximately in the middle of the hull was a large gash. It appeared to be about a foot long and 2-3 inches wide. The area around the gash was also buckled. That would explain why the boat had taken on water so quickly and sank. See attached pictures # 1 and # 2. OPERATOR and his friends were able to flip the boat back right side up and get it to the shoreline. They were then able to remove the motor which allowed the boat to ride higher in the water. They placed the motor in our boat and we transported it back to the boat ramp. OPERATOR was able to tow the boat then back to the boat ramp.