Divers with South Carolina's Department of Natural Resources said they found the boat that sunk off Sandy Island about a month ago and killed three people.
Six people were in the boat that sank in the Waccamaw River Feb. 18.
Three people survived, but Rishard Lennis Pyatt, Lou Ann Robinson, and Shaquatia Lynette Robinson, drowned.
DNR Investigator Robin Camlin said she spoke with a man on the phone on Wednesday who said he was playing around with a side scan sonar when he saw the boat. Camlin said the man’s story was confirmed Thursday when divers found the boat about 150 feet from the Sandy Island shore. Camlin said two divers went in the river and left a marker on the boat, but it will take a lot more coordination, effort, and manpower to lift the boat. Camlin said they plan to return early next week with more divers and inflatable air bags, to raise the vessel. "Our main concern is the safety issue, but we also want to keep the boat in the same condition and we'd like for everything to be level when we're attempting to bring the boat up and that's why we're going to use the air bags." Camlin said.
DNR officer and diver J.B. Kinsey said the boat was in about 25 feet of water, right side up, facing downstream. "The visibility is about this far and it silted in a little bit, you’ve got to rub off the stains from the water to read the numbers and so it was very difficult to tell what kind of condition the boat was in.” Kinsey said he tried to move the boat, but was unsuccessful. “I couldn't find a bow eye, typically we'll hook a rope to a bow eye, hook it to a tow boat and just take off and the boat will just spin right-side up, the water will drain out, we'll jump in the boat while it's moving, pull the plug out, all the water will drain out, but with out a bow eye or something to connect to, it's impossible to pull it up that way." Kinsey said it will likely take about 5 divers and probably two inflatable air bags to raise the vessel
Georgetown County Magistrate, Judge Isaac Pyatt, a cousin to all six that were on board the boat, said he received a call on Wednesday about DNR’s plans to raise the boat. Pyatt said the residents on Sandy Island are at peace with the accident and the drownings. Pyatt said recovering the bodies was closure enough, but once the boat is recovered, they will at least know what happened.
Kinsey said divers did recover the hood of the motor, just to confirm that the boat they found was the one that sunk in February.
Camlin said once the boat is recovered, it will be taken to a DNR facility in Georgetown. She said it may take them up to two months to complete the investigation.
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