Keyword Search:
text size: A | A | A
Wash. search suspended for 2 missing boaters
   posted 10:38 pm Sat June 14, 2008 - LACEY, Wash.
ABC 7 News - Wash. search suspended for 2 missing boaters
  ABC 7 News - Share Wash. search suspended for 2 missing boaters  ABC 7 News - Print Wash. search suspended for 2 missing boaters  ABC 7 News - Email Wash. search suspended for 2 missing boaters  ABC 7 News - RSS Feeds  ABC 7 News - Send Wash. search suspended for 2 missing boaters via Instant Messager
ABC 7 News - Share This Article
related stories:
Stay on top of breaking news! Sign up for ABC 7 News e-mail alerts.
Your Email:  
The search was suspended Saturday for a boy and a man now presumed dead after the small boat they were in overturned in the swift-moving Nisqually River. Cameron McCartney, 9, and Bryan L. Pierce have been missing since Thursday, when the boat overturned just upstream from the Interstate 5 bridge east of Lacey in western Washington. The body of Cameron's 5-year-old brother, Sean, was recovered Thursday evening. "We're in a recovery mode now, not a rescue mode," Thurston County sheriff's Chief Deputy Dave Pearsall said. "We've exhausted our resources."

The boat's driver, Vincent Farler, 42, of Olympia, was ordered held Friday for investigation of three counts of homicide by watercraft and operation of a watercraft while under the influence of alcohol. Bail was set at $75,000.

ABC 7 News myTAKE - What's Your Opinion? The driver and the boys' mother made it to shore safely. Erin McCartney had just met Farler on the river Thursday and he offered her and her sons a ride on the boat, said Jim Chamberlain, the sheriff's chief criminal deputy.

Court papers said a preliminary breath test measured Farler's blood alcohol level at 0.193, more than twice the legal intoxication threshold for operating a boat.

Pearsall said Saturday the 5-year-old victim, Farler and the mother were not wearing life jackets, but did not know if the two other victims were wearing life jackets.

McCartney is from the Yelm area, according to the sheriff's office. The boys' father is serving with the U.S. military in Iraq (web|news) .

Catherine Caruso, a Fort Lewis spokeswoman, said Friday that McCartney's husband has been notified and was on emergency leave, headed back to Fort Lewis.


Follow ABC 7 News on Twitter

Is Your Home 'Eco-Friendly'? Click To Find Out
You need to be a registered member of
ABC 7 News to leave comments on news stories.
Not a member yet? Click Here to sign up.
Username or Email Address
Password
Please leave your comments below:
Messages that harass, abuse or threaten other members; have obscene or otherwise objectionable content; have spam, commercial or advertising content or inappropriate links may be removed and may result in the loss of your posting privileges. Please do not post any private information unless you want it to be available publicly. Never assume that you are completely anonymous and cannot be identified by your posts.


TM & © WJLA/NewsChannel 8, a division of Allbritton Communications Company
Please read our Privacy Policy. By using this site, you accept our Terms of Service.
Children's Television | EEO Reports | DTV Consumer Education Reports
WJLA adheres to the ICRA RATING SYSTEM