An 18-year-old Mobile man died after he fell from a boat into Mobile Bay near Point Clear on Saturday evening, and his body was recovered from the water the next morning, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
Several law enforcement agencies responded to a report of a missing boater near Point Clear, on the Baldwin County side of Mobile Bay, Saturday evening. According to ALEA, the teen was operating a 2007 Boston Whaler around 7:55 p.m. when he left the boat but did not resurface.
“The passengers on board immediately took control of the vessel and attempted to locate the teen,” ALEA said in a press release. “A multitude of first responders responded to the scene and began search operations.”
An overnight search
The search stretched overnight as agencies from both sides of the bay joined the effort. Rescuers returned to the water at daybreak, and at approximately 9 a.m. Sunday, searchers located the teen’s body. A dive team immediately began recovery operations, and the body was recovered at approximately 9:59 a.m., ALEA said.
Point Clear sits along the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, where summer weekends bring heavy recreational boat traffic out of marinas in Fairhope, Montrose and Daphne. The bay’s open water can change quickly with wind and afternoon thunderstorms, and even experienced swimmers can be overcome by currents, chop or fatigue far from shore.
What ALEA is saying
ALEA spokesperson Jeremy Burkett said nothing else about the incident would be released at this time and that it remains under investigation. The agency has not disclosed the teen’s name, and investigators have not said whether a life jacket was aboard the vessel or whether any factor such as weather or a mechanical problem contributed to the fall.
Standard practice in boating fatalities is for investigators to examine the vessel, interview the passengers who were aboard and review weather conditions at the time of the incident. ALEA’s Marine Patrol Division handles boating accidents and deaths across Alabama’s coastal and inland waterways, and findings can result in safety recommendations or, in some cases, citations.
Boating safety on the bay
Alabama law requires children under 8 to wear a personal flotation device while on a boat, but adults face no such mandate — a gap safety advocates say contributes to drowning deaths each year. The vast majority of boating fatalities nationally involve victims who were not wearing a life jacket, and falls overboard remain the leading cause of fatal boating accidents nationwide, according to U.S. Coast Guard statistics.
The Coast Guard and ALEA urge boaters to file a float plan with someone ashore, carry throwable flotation devices within reach, and assign a spotter whenever someone is in the water. Alcohol is a contributing factor in roughly one in five fatal boating accidents, and operating a vessel under the influence carries the same penalties as boating under the influence on Alabama waterways.
The teen’s identity has not been released. First responders from multiple agencies took part in the search and recovery operation, and authorities have not said which agencies will be involved in completing the investigation.