The death of an elderly North Carolina woman killed Saturday in a boating accident in the Okefenokee Swamp is under investigation by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Ruby Kelly Causey, 77, of Efland, N.C., died after she and her husband, David Gerald Causey, 73, were thrown from a boat they had rented at the Suwannee Canal Recreation Area, said Capt. Scott Klingel, head of law enforcement at the DNR’s Metter office. Efland is a small town west of Durham. The Causeys had ridden about eight miles into the swamp and had crossed from Charlton County into Ware County when the accident occurred sometime before 5 p.m., Klingel said. The Causeys had eaten at the Coffee Bay Picnic area and were attempting to leave, but David Causey said he was having a hard time getting the outboard motor on the boat to crank, the DNR said in a preliminary statement. When the motor cranked, it already was in gear, David Causey told the DNR. He stated that the boat felt like it went straight up in the air and threw them both out, and that it kept running, began circling and ran over his wife, the DNR said. David Causey said neither of them was wearing a life jacket and that his wife could not swim, the DNR said. Her clothing was caught in the propeller and David Causey used his pocketknife to cut it away and tried to keep her head above water, the report said. She was conscious a few minutes but died, the DNR said. David Causey managed to get his wifes body onto the bank at the picnic shelter, restarted the boat and traveled back to the boat basin to get help. The Charlton County Sheriffs Office notified the DNR about 5:10 p.m., and the boat was taken out of the water and secured for an investigation. There is a 10 horsepower or less limit on all boat motors in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Klingel said he didn’t know if there had been a mechanical failure or if the boat struck something or whether Ruby Causey drowned or died of another cause. Ware County Sheriff Randy Royal said that county Coroner Atha Lucas responded to the scene Saturday and had sent Ruby Causeys body to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime lab in Savannah where an autopsy was scheduled for Monday. The DNR’s Critical Incident Reconstruction Team traveled to the site of the accident Sunday morning and began an investigation, Klingel said. Susan Heisey, supervisory ranger at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, said the area where the accident occurred had been closed for the DNR investigation but has reopened. She described it as a boat trail just off the canal. The Causeys were vacationing in Southeast Georgia and the Okefenokee was one of the places they wanted to visit, Heisey said. Deputy Refuge Manager Mindy Gautreaux said the refuge was saddened by the loss of life and that the staff was hopeful the Causey family would find solace during their time of grief. With an impeccable record for staff and visitor safety, the refuge is deeply affected by the loss of a refuge visitor, Gautreaux said. Staff members who have worked in the refuge since the 1970s said they could not remember a death there, Heisey said. We dont want our visitors to be afraid to go out and enjoy the swamp, she said.
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 11:48:49 +0000
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