Bobby Joe¹ Peel¹

KANSAS CITY MAN DROWNS AT NEVADA

Bobby Joe Peel, 21, of 3911 Spruce Alone in a Sailboat.

SWIMS FOR FAR SHORE

He Fails Halfway in a 200-Yard Swim After Boat Capsizes.
A 21-year old Kansas City man drowned yesterday after an aluminum rowboat with a homemade sail capsized on a private lake at the east edge of Nevada, Mo. The victim was Bobby Joe Peel, who lived with his parents, Mr and Mrs Raymond Peel, 3911 Spruce Avenue. Firemen with grappling hooks worked half an hour to recover the body from 10 feet of water.
Peel was alone in the boat when it overturned in a strong wind about 20 feet from shore. Instead of swimming to the near shore, Peel started toward a shore 200-feet away where friends were watching him. After swimming a little more than half the distance, Peel called for help.
Donald Kinnaird, 28, of 4208 Spruce, who was standing on the shore, stripped off his clothes and dived into the chilly water. He reached Peel too late.
“I had a hold of his hair two times,” Kinniard said, “but I lost him.” Peel, who had served two years in the Coast Guard, was believed to be a good swimmer. It is believed, he suffered a cramp in the cold water. Kinnaird, who is employed in the stock department at Nelly Don, Inc, said he and Peel drove to Nevada Friday night in Kinnaird’s car. They purchased canvas for a sail before starting the trip. “We made the sail Saturday”, Kinnaird said, “and tried it out. Peel wanted to go out on the lake alone, and he did.” The sail was being used on a12-foot boat owned by Moses Bunker of Nevada.
“That aluminum boat has air tanks,” Kinnaird said. “If he had clung to the boat he would have been all right. The boat stayed afloat.” Kinnaird said he was not a good swimmer. He said he lost some time in getting use to the cold water. “After I turned around and started back to shore”, Kinnaird said, “I had to call for a line when I was about 40 feet off shore. I was afraid I wouldn’t make it.”
The lake is called the Katy Allen and is owned by the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company. It is used mainly by retired railroad employees. The body was taken to the Shorten Funeral Home in Nevada.
Peel was born at Freeman, Mo. He attended Central High School before joining the Coast Guard. He was discharged last November. Peel attended the Monroe Avenue Baptist Church.
Also surviving is a brother, Charles Edward Peel of the home; his paternal grandmother, Mrs Ed Peel, Hepler, Kan, and his maternal grandfather, C R Duncan, 820 Smith.
Services will be at 1:30 o’clock Tuesday in the Freeman Baptist Church.Burial will be in the Freeman Cemetery.- The Kansas City Times (Kansas City, Missouri) · Mon, Apr 27, 1959