Torrential downpour and flash flooding led to numerous emergency calls in Webster County late last week, including two area accidents resulting in fatalities.
Olga, MO.
One woman is dead after a vehicle was swept off the road at the Finley River Crossing on State Route Z, south of Fordland, Thursday night. The vehicle was carrying three passengers and a pet when it was first stranded around 10:30 p.m. on March 23 after attempting to travel over the low-water crossing.
“All passengers were able to exit the vehicle and two people were removed from the water and made it to safety that night,” said Webster County Sheriff Roye Cole.
On Friday, search and rescue authorities safely located the dog which remained missing from the scene overnight. Search efforts for the driver of the vehicle continued into Saturday, led by Sheriff Cole. Her body was located around 5:30 p.m. approximately four miles from where the vehicle was swept off the road, just north of the steel bridge in Christian County.
The efforts included Highway Patrol Water Division boats in the water, drones above the area, a Webster County reserve in a plane and manpower from Southern Webster County Fire Department, Logan-Rogersville Fire Protection District in addition to the Sheriff’s Office and Battlefield Fire Protection District. Groups of citizens from the Fordland Church of Christ and Mount Vernon Church of Christ also joined the search.
“We also had some citizens show up on foot and horseback,” Cole said. “Our community stepped up and fought hard to find her… Our hearts are with her family.”
The deceased woman was identified by Missouri State Highway Patrol as 49-year-old Annette L. Mesicek, of Mount Vernon.
“We believe that this was less about not being able to cross the water and more of a visibility issue,” Cole said. “There was a super heavy downpour at that time and there was about a 10 minute window that made it hard for people to see what they were heading into.”
As the vehicle began crossing the bridge, flood water was estimated to be around five feet deep and ultimately swept the car off the road. According to a passenger, the three were able to make it out of the vehicle and onto the roof of the car. Two of them made it safely to shore, though visibility was still impaired due to the rain.
Grovespring, MO.
A vehicle carrying six passengers attempted to cross a low-water crossing in Wright County early Friday morning resulting in two dead among other injuries.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the driver of the vehicle told law enforcement that limited sight distance due to the torrential downpour prevented them from seeing around five feet of water passing over the top of a bridge over Parks Creek on Highway M in Grovespring just after midnight.
The vehicle entered the water and was swept around 1,000 feet down the creek. When responders arrived, three people were on shore and water rescue crews were able to assist another passenger out of the water safely.
“Three of the six were able to get out of the water. When we found the fourth passenger, they were in the creek clinging to a tree,” said Niangua Fire Chief Shawn Ricks, who was called to assist in the water rescue call. “It took several hours to find the remaining passengers. We walked the creek a lot and the water was extremely high. Once the rain let up and the water started dropping, we were then able to find the car, which had traveled about a half a mile down the creek. It was then that we were able to find the first deceased person.”
The first deceased passenger was located around 3:30 a.m. The search continued into Friday for the remaining missing person, who was found deceased around 9:40 a.m. The victims were identified early Friday afternoon as Devin Holt, 20, of Grovespring and Alexander Roman-Ranelli, 19, of Springfield.
Rescue efforts included crews from the Wright County Sheriff’s Office, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Grovespring Fire Department, Niangua Volunteer Fire Department and MSHP search and rescue.
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