Server at Lake of the Ozarks dragged into water by customers in dine-and-dash

CAMDENTON, Mo. (KMIZ)

A server at a lakeside restaurant and bar said she was dragged into the water at the Lake of the Ozarks while chasing down dine-and-dash culprits last weekend.

Liahna Bertels, a server at the Fish and Company Restaurant in Camdenton, said customers pulled her into the Lake of the Ozarks after they refused to pay their bill on Friday night.

Bertels told Spring field, Missouri-based KY3 that she had informed the customers about the long wait for food before they placed their orders. The group grew upset over the delay, and although Bertels offered to pack their food in to-go boxes, they left before she could do so.

Bertels, a young mother with a 3-year-old daughter, said she was trying to do the right thing by ensuring the group paid their bill. Bertels mentioned that a young woman in the group ordered a drink, but she refused to serve her due to lack of ID. This upset the group, who ordered food about half an hour later.

Surveillance footage provided by Bertels shows the customers leaving and walking down the dock to a boat, with Bertels following them to remind them they hadn't paid. The video doesn't capture the confrontation but shows the boat driving away.

Sean Owens, a manager of Fish and Company, said employees at the restaurant have never seen something like that before and want to prevent it from happening again.

"We rarely have fights or anything like that.  What we want to do now, you know, if if you feel like you want to go down there, even if you know the person, let somebody know you're going down there," Owens said.

According to Revolution Ordering, 5% of diners have left a restaurant without paying their bill.

The Camden County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post that it is hoping to speak with the people on the boat. One person in a photo distributed by the sheriff's office contacted authorities and was cleared, the sheriff's office wrote Tuesday.

We spoke with Liahna Bertels, who expressed her gratitude for the community's support during this challenging time. Bertels also urged anyone with new information to report it to the Camden County Sheriff's Office.

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