Utah boating accident kills 57-year-old Marilyn Jackman, two missing

One woman is dead and two more are missing after a boating accident on Lake Powell.

Kane County Sheriff’s Sgt. Alan Alldredge said in a news release on Thursday that at around 8:15 a.m. Thursday, National Park Service dispatchers received reports of a boating accident at buoy 43 near Dangling Rope Marina. The accident involved a motor boat and a houseboat.

Jessica Jackman

Alldredge said one woman riding on the motor boat was killed in the accident. She has been identified as 57-year-old Marilyn Jackman from South Jordan.

He said rescue crews are still searching the water for the bodies of two missing women, Jackman’s daughter, 22-year-old Jessica Jackman, and 29-year-old Valerie Rae Bradshaw from Sandy.

Valerie Rae Bradshaw

Other people on the boat were injured, and at least one was flown out via medical helicopter.

Alldredge said it appears that the driver of the boat may have been temporarily distracted by the movement of some children on the boat, and did not see the houseboat in time.

The driver tried to tu to miss the houseboat, but collided with the front coer, causing the motor boat to overtu and all thirteen people on the boat to be thrown out.

The National Park Service, Utah State Parks and Kane County Sheriff’s Office are working together on the rescue attempt and on the investigation of the accident.

An equipment malfunction reportedly forced rescue crews to halt their search efforts of the 400-foot deep water on Friday, but they will likely resume searching on Saturday. The area is very remote and crews will need sonar equipment shipped in from Salt Lake City.