Michigan family stuck in West Tenn. after boat crash
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DECATUR COUNTY, Tenn. — A Michigan family is stranded in West Tennessee after their boat crashed during a storm. “We were doing everything we could, but we could not see,” Michelle Kettlewell said. “We had no visibility whatsoever, and the winds were unbelievable.” Kettlewell said her mother mistakenly ran into a group of rocks after trying to avoid two barges in their path. “It sank very quickly. We were able to get off the boat and get to the ledge for safety, which was a blessing because we weren’t hurt,” Sydney McVoy said. Several hours after Kettlewell’s boat sank, she said she got a call from the Environmental Protection Agency. “They wanted to know what I was doing to take the boat out of the water, stop the fuel from leaking into the riverways, and basically I had nothing. I didn’t even have shoes on my feet,” Kettlewell said. Kettlewell said since she was not able to comply in time, the EPA seized the boat. She also said she was not allowed to retrieve her personal items. “We don’t have any belongings — license, credit cards, money or anything — because it is all on the boat,” she said. Kettlewell said for five days the EPA has raised her boat to drain fuel and then sank it again. Once the boat is fully drained, Kettlewell said the EPA will sink it to the bottom of the river. “We have nothing we can do, so we are trying to reach out to anyone and everyone to say ‘don’t sink that boat,'” Kettlewell said. The EPA declined to comment on the operation. Kettlewell said her boat is uninsured and that they are currently being assisted by a local church.
