Man Drowns in Boating Accident

A Mountain View man drowned after a boating accident near Buffalo City Oct. 6.

A news release from the Baxter County Sheriff’s Department indicates that John V. Webb, 47, of Mountain View was in a boat that capsized around 1 p.m. on White River near Smith Island.

Sheriff John Montgomery said witnesses last saw Webb attempting to swim to the Marion County side of the river. His body was recovered about an hour and a half later more than a mile downstream.

The other occupant of the boat, 74-year-old David Hopper of Mountain View, was able to reach the shore after the accident and was located by another boater.

Sheriff’s deputies and first responders were dispatched to the scene, with boats launched from both rescuers and private citizens. The sheriff’s office helicopter was also launched. There were four generators in operation at the Bull Shoals Dam at the time.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is investigating the boating incident.