TOWBOAT CAPTAIN THOUGHT DROWNED

WEST ALTON -- Charles Kauffman, the Jackson resident and tow-boat captain who went overboard Monday on the Missouri River, was still missing and presumed drowned Wednesday night.

The Missouri Water Patrol, Twin Rivers Rescue Squad, St. Louis Fire Department and St. Charles Underwater Rescue continued their search for the third day Wednesday.

Kauffman, 49, was running to assist two crew members in a utility boat when he tripped and fell into the Missouri River Monday morning two miles west of the mouth of the Missouri River, the Water Patrol reported.

The towboat and its barges were pointed downriver against the bank. A utility boat -- a 16-foot, motorized johnboat -- had picked up supplies and was returning with two crew members when its engine died. The boat floated into the barges.

Kauffman ran down to help, tripped and fell overboard. He surfaced and held onto the utility boat as it floated into the back of the barge.

The current apparently flipped the utility boat over, putting all three men in the water and sweeping them under the barges. All three men surfaced.

Co-workers were able to pull the two crew members, Randy Holmes of St. Louis and James L. Courto of Alton, Ill., from the water.

Courto reported seeing Kauffman disappearing more than 150 feet downriver.

The Water Patrol reported the current is particularly strong in this part of the river.