Clifford H. Brandt, 77, died Sunday (April 30) after he fell in Belews Creek near his home on Westminster Lane in the Hillsboro area and was swept downstream, authorities report.
At about 4 p.m. Brandt walked up to the creek, lost his balance and slipped into the water near Westminster Lane and Mimi’s Mountain Road, which are off Hwy. BB, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which oversees the state’s Water Patrol division.
Cpl. Juston Wheetley of the highway patrol said Brandt’s family members told authorities he had gone outside to check on the rising water in the creek and to do some work.
At 4:42 p.m., family members called and reported Brandt was missing.
His body was found just before 7 p.m. about 3/4 of a mile downstream, or north, of where he fell in, said Assistant Chief Brian Gaudet of the Hillsboro Fire Protection District, one of several agencies that helped with the search.
Gaudet said Dunklin Fire Protection District personnel, who were searching in a boat, found Brandt’s body north of Stump Hollow Road, which also is off Hwy. BB, between rural Hillsboro and Cedar Hill.
The Cedar Hill Fire Protection District also helped with the call, as did the highway patrol’s water patrol division.