Charge filed in Ozarks boating incident that killed Waterloo man

Sean Jouglard

A felony charge was filed Tuesday in Camden County, Mo., in connection with an August boating incident at the Lake of the Ozarks that resulted in the death of a young Waterloo man.

Dylan T. McEwen, 24, of Swansea, was charged with boating while intoxicated (death of another), which is a Class C felony in Missouri.

Court information states that a missing person was reported before 6:30 p.m. Aug. 8 near the 20.1 mile marker of the Osage arm at the Lake of the Ozarks. The six people on the boat reported one of the occupants, Sean P. Jouglard, 21, of Waterloo, was missing after the group went swimming.

Investigators asked those on the boat who was driving when Jouglard went missing, and they pointed to McEwen. A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper reported he could smell alcohol on McEwen’s breath. McEwen’s speech was slurred and his eyes were watery and bloodshot, according to court documents.

McEwen told the trooper he had been drinking since 1 p.m. A search warrant was obtained to get a chemical blood test for McEwen. A lab analysis of the blood was returned Sept. 2, indicating McEwen’s blood alcohol concentration was .187 percent three hours after the incident.

To read the charging document and probable cause warrant, click here.

A video of the incident obtained by police shows Jouglard, a Gibault Catholic High School graduate, in the boat as it travels over several wakes. On the last wake, Jouglard was thrown from the boat, court information states.

A witness also reported seeing a man fall off the boat, police said.

Jouglard’s body was recovered in the water on Aug. 9.

Dylan McEwen

McEwen’s initial court appearance is set for Dec. 20.

In September, Jouglard’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against McEwen and Eric and Ronald Goette, both of Columbia.

Russ Watters, the Jouglards’ attorney, said the findings of the criminal suit could help bolster the civil case.

“Any deposition of a finding of guilt would be admissible in the civil case,” Watters said.

He said they are currently in the process of depositions and discovery in the Jouglards’ case. With this and the documents relating to McEwen’s charge, Watters said they are moving toward long-awaited answers.

“We are slowly but surely chipping away at getting to the truth as to what happened to Sean the day he died,” he said.

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