Bahamas Boat Hits Snorkeling Ex-Army Ranger; Authorities Hunt Runaway Crew

A 42-year-old former U.S. Army Ranger from Prosper, Texas, is in critical condition after a small motorboat struck him while he was snorkeling just 20 feet off an Exuma beach on 30 June, according to his family. The vessel’s propeller sliced through Brent Slough’s lower torso and legs before the boat sped away, security footage reviewed by the family shows. Slough was stabilised at a local clinic, then flown to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, where surgeons repaired multiple leg fractures and a fractured pelvis and continue to monitor deep lacerations for infection, relatives said. His wife, Whitney, who was snorkeling nearby with the couple’s two teenage daughters, said the family paid for a private medevac flight and has started an online fundraising campaign to cover mounting medical bills. Bahamian maritime regulations prohibit motorboats from operating within 200 feet of shore. Police in the Bahamas said they are reviewing video evidence and interviewing witnesses but have not identified the boat or its operator. The family is urging anyone with information to come forward and has appealed to U.S. authorities for assistance in what they describe as a hit-and-run crime.