The victims of boat collision early Saturday near Burlington have been identified. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources identified the victims as: 21-year-olds Matthew T. House, 22-year-old Jacob K. Boyd, 20-year-old Caitlyn M. Atchley , and 21-year-old Blake A. Eakins. All of the victims who died are from Burlington.
The D.N.R. says the collision happened around 1:40 A.M. Saturday in the O’Donnell Slough area of the Mississippi River near Burlington when a jon boat operated by 20-year-old Joseph S. Schier of Burlington ran into another jon boat operated by 21-year-old Douglas C. Metcalf, also of Burlington.
In addition to the victims, other passengers in the boat operated by Metcalf included 21-year-old Christopher Edwards, 21-year-old Jedadiah J. Thomas, 21-year-old Michael M. Shea, 21-year-old Reno A. Trejo, 20-year-old Jennifer C. Parcel, all of Burlington and 19-year-old Katie K. Nelan of Davenport. Schier was the lone occupant of his vessel.
Schier, Metcalf, Edwards, Thomas, Shea, Trejo, Nelan and Parcel all made it to shore shortly after the accident. All were treated at Great River Medical Center in Burlington except Nelan, who was air-lifted to University Hospitals in Iowa City.
The D.N.R. says search efforts for House, Boyd, Atchley and Easkins continued throughout the day Saturday until dusk and then resumed early Sunday morning when they were recovered in 10 to 12 feet of water within approximately 100 yards of where the collision occurred.
State and local officials are still investigating to try and determine what happened.