Keith Pigram Missing Person Case

May 31, 2019

Mar 30, 2020

Keith

Pigram

43

35

67 inches

240 lbs

Black / African American

Male

On a December day in 2017, the lives of a Memphis, Tennessee family were irrevocably altered by a tragedy on the Mississippi River. Thirty-five-year-old Keith Pigram, a captain for Wepfer Marine, was working on the tugboat Ricky Robinson with his 19-year-old stepson, Anqavius "Qua" Jamison. Just before 11:30 a.m. on December 8th, the vessel capsized and sank near President's Island, about three miles south of Mud Island. In the moments before the boat went under, Pigram made a distress call, stating they were taking on water. This heartbreaking event initiated a prolonged period of uncertainty and grief for their loved ones. In the immediate aftermath, an extensive search and rescue operation was launched. The U.S. Coast Guard, alongside local agencies including the Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, scoured approximately 324 nautical miles of the river for about 29 hours before suspending the official search. Devastated but undeterred, the families of Pigram and Jamison organized their own search parties, mobilizing people through social media and using their own resources to comb the riverbanks, holding onto a sliver of hope. Nine days after the incident, the sunken tugboat was raised from the depths of the river. Inside the wreckage, rescuers made the sorrowful discovery of Jamison's body. However, there was no sign of Keith Pigram. The National Transportation Safety Board later investigated the sinking and determined the probable cause was the pilot's decision to move forward with unsecured deck hatches at a speed that caused water to come onto the deck and flood aft voids. The investigation also noted the company's inadequate oversight in ensuring hatches were kept closed while the vessel was underway as a contributing factor. For Keith Pigram's family, the pain was compounded by the fact that he was never recovered from the river; he had worked for the tugboat company for about eleven years and was a father to five children. The case is a tragic account of a workplace accident that claimed two lives, one of whom vanished into the powerful currents of the Mississippi River, leaving a void in the lives of his family and friends.

Dec 09, 2017

Memphis

Tennessee

Shelby County

38103

No

55690

Memphis Police Department

Memphis

Tennessee

Shelby County

38103

170 North Main Street, Tennessee

9016363700

Local

Law Enforcement

http://www.memphispolice.org/

1712004090ME

2017-12-09

Memphis Police Department

9447

Black

Brown

Brown

07/09/2026