An Oklahoma couple celebrating their wedding anniversary in Branson saw the entire catastrophe as it unfolded.
"Every time they would try to throw them a life vest, the wind just jerked it away from them," eyewitness Telena Cooper said.
Less than 24 hours ago Telena and James Cooper were on the Branson Belle. It was right where the Duck Boat went down and before they could even get on the Branson Belle.
They captured video as the storm came rolling through.
"We ran out there and the boat is just on its side, sinking," Telena Cooper said. "Then the boat disappears and all you see is people's heads just bobbing down in the water."
It was a horrific moment, but it also captured strangers coming together and rescuing people from the sinking boat.
"They were pulling people out of the water and they crossed a little docking station area to pull them up," James Cooper said. "You see them pull a little boy up and then this lady. It was just crazy at the point. The wind was blowing and then they told us we needed to get back inside."
The Coopers are from Oklahoma and have been to Branson many times.
Obviously, this experience was a horrific one.
Now, they want to honor those victims. They said that they're going to take some rose petals and they're going to put them on the cars that were left in the parking lot at Ride with the Ducks.
