Mother and young children die in boating accident on Kansas river, game wardens say

A mother and two young children died in a boating accident on a Kansas river that also hospitalized the father, state game wardens said.

The boat accident happened on the Neosho River in the area of the Burlington City Dam at around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism said in a news release.

“The preliminary investigation revealed that a family of two adults and two children were boating on the river,” wardens said. “As the boat approached the low-head dam, it stalled in rapid, aerated water, at which point the operator lost control of the vessel and all occupants were ejected.”

Rescue crews saved a man from Shawnee, taking him to Burlington Hospital, where he is in stable condition. One woman, identified as Maribel Moran, and the couple’s 3-year-old and 5-year-old children, were found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the hospital.

Anyone with information on the boating accident is asked to call KDWPT game wardens at 785-207-3151. The state department investigates all fatal boating accidents.

This story was originally published June 6, 2021 at 1:40 PM.