I have a cabin not six miles from where this occurred.
The Lake of the Ozarks is lake overwhelmed by power boating on the weekends. It has a 0.5 mile channel that curves and boating is very problematic.
There are people that go there to be drunk and boat at the same time. Wild drunken groups or individuals are commonplace on weekends. Likewise, unsafe boating is a huge headache and there are multiple drownings and boat accidents killing 1 to 5 people each year.
I have had this place there for five years but have been visiting this lake my whole life and have never been stopped by the water patrol on this lake although I have been subject to minor stops on other Missouri Lakes. The stops have always been very proper, low key and the officers have been businesslike and even helpful. The drunks they have to deal with are probably not getting the same attitudes during stops that I have seen, but I have seen a dozen stops with nothing un-professional.
A good video of a boat accident on this lake is here:http://www.stltoday.com/news/multimedia/videos/lake-of-the-ozarks-boat-crash/youtube_618825e4-f754-11e1-a464-001a4bcf6878.html
With accidents of this nature, the Water Patrol has a big job in dealing with all sorts of issues on the water.
I might add for general interest that a 42’ unlimited Cat just flipped during a Shoot-Out run at the race this weekend putting semi-professional drivers in the hospital and this is on a closed course race.