Two men were rescued from the rising Ohio River after their towboat sank and two others were missing in an unrelated boating accident on the Ohio River Monday, on a day when steady rain sent at least one area river over flood stage.

        As police investigated one of the accidents, they spotted a body in the Ohio River.

        The Robert M. sank in the Ohio about 1,000 feet downriver from the Anderson Ferry about 4:40 p.m. Two people on the vessel — the pilot and deckhand — were pulled from the water by the crew of another towboat.

        U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Robert Bowen said the two men escaped unharmed partly because they were wearing life jackets and were pulled from the water in a matter of minutes.

        “The river is an unforgiving place,” Lt. Cmdr. Bowen said.

        The small towboat — about 80-120 feet long — was not pushing a barge at the time of the accident and apparently didn't strike any object in the river, Lt. Cmdr. Bowen said.

        The crew said the vessel started to list, he said.

        The preliminary indication is that waves from the river — described as running “fast and hard” — may have thrown water aboard and eventually tilted the vessel enough to sink it.

        The now-submerged towboat, which sank about 300 feet from the Kentucky shore, presents two problems — a hazard to navigation and a pollution concern, Lt. Comdr. Bowen said.

        He said vessels on the river will be advised to favor the Ohio side when they pass the spot where the Robert M. went down. There were 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel on the towboat and it is leaking into the river, he said. But because the river is high and running fast, the fuel may dissipate, he said.

        Meanwhile, Clermont County sheriff's deputies searching for two missing boaters Monday afternoon instead found another body unrelated to the boat wreck.

        Deputies responded about 4:30 p.m. to a report that a fishing boat carrying three men had capsized in the Ohio River around the lock area of the Meldahl Dam. One of the men made it to shore.

        “He said he looked back and lost sight of them,” said Sheriff A.J. “Tim” Rodenberg. “He said, "My two buddies are in the water.'”

        Th survivor was rescued by a passing tugboat, the sheriff said.

        As deputies began to look for the two men in their 20s, they spotted the decomposed body of a naked man in the water against the dam, the sheriff said, and brought the body to shore. The body had not been identified Monday night, and was taken to the Hamilton County Coroner's Office for an autopsy. Investigators will check with jurisdictions upriver, he said, to see if any have any missing men.

        The men in the wrecked aluminum fishing boat, the sheriff said, were not wearing life jackets. The trio launched the boat on the Kentucky side of the river about 2 p.m., and it capsized about 3:30 p.m. The search, which was hampered by high water, was called off about 10 p.m. and was to resume this morning, Sheriff Rodenberg said.

        The names of the missing fisherman were being withheld late Monday until their families could be notified.

        The Ohio River was at 37.6 feet Monday night, and is expected to crest at about 41 feet on Friday. Flood stage is 52 feet. The forecast calls for a slight chance of scattered showers thisafternoon, and then a couple of days with no rain.

        “We're going to stay dry through Thursday,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Ryan.

        The Great Miami River was scheduled to crest at 21 feet Monday night at Miamitown, 5 feet above flood stage.

       Jane Prendergast contributed to this report. E-mail William A. Weathers at bweathers@enquirer.com.

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