[6][7] Mehl spent almost $18,000 on renovations to meet safety standards,[7] after which the federal inspectors called the Columbia "the safest boat on western waters".
[8] The boat left Pekin at 8:15 p.m.[4] The Columbia docked at Al Fresco Park along the river in Richwoods Township (and now Peoria Heights) for 30 minutes, then returned downstream.
[7] Just after passing under the Peoria and Pekin Union Railway bridge, just upstream from Wesley City (now Creve Coeur), the boat encountered dense fog, which a passenger described as "like going from sunshine into darkness".
[7] Captain Mehl told pilot Tom Williams to make for the shore, unaware of a large hole torn in the ship's side by a submerged log.
[11] In July 1992, a memorial park to the disaster was dedicated in Creve Coeur by the Wesley City Historical Society.