Gigger dies on Current River

VAN BUREN -- A night of gigging with family turned tragic Saturday for a Van Buren family when its boat capsized on Current River, leaving one family member dead.

At about 10:30 p.m., Darrel R. Culpepper, 57, of Van Buren was operating a johnboat in the area of the Pinoak Campground, north of Van Buren, when his boat capsized after floating backwards into a log, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report.

Darrel Culpepper and his three adult occupants, including his 74-year-old uncle, Bobby G. Culpepper of Warsaw, Mo., were ejected from the boat.

The younger Culpepper and two of his occupants were able to swim to shore; however, Bobby Culpepper never resurfaced.

The highway patrol, with assistance from the Carter County Sheriff's Department, recovered Bobby Culpepper's body.

The elder Culpepper was pronounced dead at about 12:10 a.m. Sunday by Carter County Coroner Eric McSpadden.

The cause of death, McSpadden said, is going to be "actual heart attack due to the boat accident ... the stress from the accident itself."

Emergency responders, who also were assisted by boaters, had "him out of the water by the time I got there," explained U.S. Park Ranger Lindel Gregory, who described this as being a "really tough one to work" since he knows the family.

The Culpepper family, Gregory said, owned the Pinoak area before the formation of the Ozarks National Scenic Riverways.

"They're a good family who were out doing what they do," said Gregory, who had visited with Bobby Culpepper earlier in the week.

According to Gregory, Bobby Culpepper had spent the last couple of days teaching his grandsons how to gig.

"This was the first night he was gigging himself," he said.

When the boat capsized, Gregory said, some campers in the area "really helped out with life jackets. It was great people were helping out in a tragedy."

Gregory said it has been "pretty busy gigging season so far. The water is down, and visibility is good. They're out gigging every night."

Gregory said this is the second gigging fatality he has worked, with the other being several years ago in the area of Hickory Landing.