UPDATE: Ferry Worker Dies After Falling Into River

Anderson Ferry worker Virgil Souder, 82, died after falling into the Ohio River on Tuesday, December 11.

Anderson Ferry

Update posted Wednesday, December 11 at 6:79 a.m.:

A longtime Anderson Ferry deckhand died after falling into the freezing cold Ohio River Tuesday.

Virgil Souder, 82, was working on the ferry when he somehow fell into the river at about 2:00 p.m. Nobody saw Souder fall in and the ferry captain didn’t sound the alarm until the boat reached the shoreline, WLWT-TV reported.

It took about 30 minutes before a tugboat operator spotted Souder in the water downstream. A man on that boat pulled him out.

Souder was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he died later Tuesday.

According to WLWT, Souder, a Hebron resident, had worked for the Anderson Ferry for 50 years. The former ferry captain was a Korean War veteran.

Tuesday’s incident remains under investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Ohio River waters are about 40 degrees right now. 

Original story posted Tuesday, December 10 at 4:10 p.m.:

(Boone County, Ky.) – A deckhand on the Anderson Ferry was rescued from the chilly Ohio River waters after falling in Tuesday afternoon.

WLWT-TV reports that Boone County Water Rescue and Cincinnati firefighters were called to the river at the ferry crossing just before 2:00 p.m. A man had reportedly fallen from the ferry boat into the river.

Another vessel found the man downstream and pulled him from the water.

The unidentified victim, reported to be in his 80s, was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, firefighters told WLWT.