Fisherman’s drowning reminds some of similar tragedies here

The drowning death last weekend of fisherman Mike Meidell, 52, of West Plains reminded some area residents of at least two previous tragedies that occurred when a solitary fisherman headed out in a boat on Norfork Lake – and didn’t come back.

Russ Bushong

Gainesville city council member Lana Bushong said Monday she was about 12 years old when her dad, Russ Bushong, then 44, drowned in Norfork Lake on Sept. 1, 1970. She remembers “staying home from school on the day they were all out hunting for him.”

In its Sept. 10, 1970, edition, the Ozark County Times reported that Bushong, whose 1961 Missouri state record for a largemouth bass still stands, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation, did not return home after heading out to check his trot lines at “Udall landing” on a Tuesday afternoon. He had recently been discharged from the hospital and “had been fishing every day since his return home,” the Times story said.

“A search was begun late that evening which continued into Wednesday afternoon, when the body was discovered directly under one of the trot lines. His fishing net was found hooked to the line and his boat was lodged against the bank, where the body was found in about 30 feet of water,” theTimes reported.

Kevin Reed

Kevin Reed, 47, left the home in Gainesville he shared with girlfriend Missy Kennedy (now Missy Foster) about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 21, 2006, to go fishing at Liner on Norfork Lake, driving Missy’s Jeep with his boat trailer attached.

About 90 minutes later, another fisherman, Brandon Ellison, arrived at Liner and found Reed’s boat trailer backed into the water and the Jeep still running with the driver’s door open. Missy said Monday that Ellison found a cell phone on the seat of the Jeep and scrolled through the contacts, looking for a familiar name.

He found Jim Fry’s name and called him, asking, “Who do you know who drives this Jeep?” Fry knew it was Missy’s Jeep and felt sure Reed had been driving it.

“Brandon called it right in,” Missy said, and Missouri State Water Patrol officers, including Sgt. Wayne Talburt, soon arrived. They found Reed’s hat floating in the water, and someone fishing in a nearby cove found his boat, empty. 

The searchers worked until 1 a.m. Monday – then resumed the search at 7 a.m., using sonar equipment and, later that evening, dragging the bottom, according to the May 24, 2006, edition of the Times. 

Reed’s body was found at 7:19 p.m. about 150 feet north of the Liner boat ramp in 12 feet of water. The Times quoted Talburt as saying, “We suspect the boat started drifting off while he was launching and he tried to swim after the boat to retrieve it. ... The combination of being fully clothed with his boots on, no personal flotation device and the cold water were most likely the contributing factors in his drowning.”

 Missy said Monday that seeing the reports about missing fisherman Mike Meidell on the Ozark County Times Facebook page last weekend brought back the tortured memories of 13 years ago. “The waiting is so horrible,” she said.