GALENA, Mo. (AP) — Three men charged after a tourist boat sank in Missouri during a 2018 storm, killing 17 people, were in court Wednesday for a preliminary hearing to determine if the criminal case against them will proceed.

Kenneth Scott McKee, 54, the captain of the vessel known as a duck boat; Curtis P. Lanham, 39, the general manager at Ride the Ducks in Branson; and Charles V. Baltzell, 79, the operations supervisor who was a manager on duty the night the boat sank, are each charged with 17 counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter.

McKee also faces 12 charges counts of first-degre...