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The Beaufort County, South Carolina coroner’s office has released the names of the two victims who died in a boating accident last Friday evening (June 27, 2025) near the entrance of Skull Creek in Beaufort County, South Carolina.
Patsy Montgomery, 73, and her husband James “Rick” Montgomery, 76 — both of Bluffton, S.C. — were pronounced dead at the scene along with two dogs. The cause of death is pending autopsy results, according to the coroner’s office. The couple owned Magic Pools and Spas of Lexington, North Carolina.
Two other individuals were transported to the hospital with injuries. Their names have not been released.
The fatal crash occurred when the Montgomerys’ 23-foot vessel capsized near the entrance to Skull Creek, just south of Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge. Witnesses on the scene have alleged lengthy delays in the emergency response.
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According to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), the initial call came in around 9:45 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 27. A flight tracker showed a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) helicopter en route at approximately 10:21 p.m. EDT.
FITSNews is working to independently confirm the emergency response timeline with all of the agencies involved — including BCSO, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), and the USCG.
Tragically, the issue of delayed responses to boating accidents in the Palmetto State is nothing new — and it’s something that South Carolina lawmakers are actively working to address.
In response to the 2020 boating death of 19-year-old Jaden Phillips, state representative Jermaine Johnson introduced Jaden’s Law (H.3602) — which would fundamentally reform how the state responds to serious waterway incidents. The bill would require dispatchers to give precise GPS coordinates and physical addresses of public landings to emergency responders, mandate signage at all landings and institute new triage protocols to ensure SCDNR is brought in promptly whenever a water-related accident is reported.
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RELATED | LEGISLATION ADDRESSES BOATING ACCIDENT INVESTIGATIONS
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The bill would also require breathalyzer testing for all vessel operators in serious incidents — a step that was skipped in Phillips’ case despite alcohol use being reported — and would obligate responding officers to treat these scenes as active investigations with proper evidence collection and inter-agency coordination.
If passed, Jaden’s Law would represent the most sweeping update to South Carolina’s boating safety laws in decades — and it could impact the future outcomes of boat crashes like the one which claimed the lives of the Montgomerys.
Introduced in January, Johnson’s bill has yet to receive a vote in the S.C. House of Representatives. Whether this latest incident will prompt lawmakers to advance the legislation remains to be seen — but for grieving families and first responders, every minute on the water counts.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Callie Lyons is a relentless investigative journalist, researcher, and author known for exposing hard truths with heart and precision. As a journalist for FITSNews, she dives into high-profile and murky cases—like that of Mica Francis Miller— with fearless resolve and a sharp eye for detail, whether it’s tracking white-collar crime, uncovering religious abuse, or examining the often-bizarre behavior of those who believe they’re above the law.
Callie made waves with her groundbreaking 2007 book Stain-Resistant, Nonstick, Waterproof and Lethal, the first to reveal the dangers of forever chemicals, a story that helped inspire the film Dark Waters and influenced global scientific dialogue. Her work has appeared in numerous documentaries, including Toxic Soup, National Geographic’s Parched: Toxic Waters, and more recently Citizen Sleuth, which examines the complexities of true crime podcasting.
Whether she’s navigating environmental disasters or the darker corners of society, Lyons operates with one guiding belief: “Truth never damages a cause that is just.”
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