Jet skier dies after going airborne on wake at the Ozarks, Missouri officials say

A 62-year-old man died on Wednesday, Sept. 7, after he crashed a jet ski on the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri officials say.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the crash happened around 12:20 p.m. Wednesday at the five mile marker of the main channel of the lake in Camden County.

Russell Rauba was operating a 2011 Kawasaki PWC when he struck a wake and went airborne, patrol officers said. When the jet ski landed, Rauba slid off of it and lost consciousness, officials said.

Rauba, of Jefferson City, was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead about an hour after the crash, according to the state highway patrol.

According to a LinkedIn page, Rauba was retired after working nearly 32 years for Chevron. He was a graduate of University of Missouri in Columbia.

There have been six deaths reported this year on the Lake of the Ozarks. The victims range in age 29 to 62.