High Ridge Fire Protection District Dive Team members were searching late this afternoon (June 17) for a 20-year-old St. Louis County man who disappeared in the Big River near Rockford Beach in House Springs.
At about 1:20 p.m., the man was swimming in the river when he disappeared under the water and did not resurface, High Ridge Fire Chief Mike Arnhart said.
“His friends say that he started swimming towards the dam area and we have two witnesses identifying the location where he went under,” Arnhart said. “This is not a crowded beach, but the water was very deep where he went under.”
Jefferson County 911 Dispatch received the call at 1:24 p.m. and High Ridge firefighters arrived on the scene at 1:30 p.m., Arnhart said.
Firefighters from the Cedar Hill Fire Protection District joined the effort and helped drag the river.
The Missouri State Water Patrol also assisted with the call.
As of 4 p.m., the man had not been found.
“We will continue to search until we find him, or until it gets dark,” Arnhart said.