A 29-year-old South St. Louis County woman, a 12-year-old Fenton girl, an Imperial man and a House Springs man, were rescued from the Big River at Rockford Park on June 29.
Crews from the High Ridge Fire Protection District were called to the park at 7:45 p.m. Fire Chief John Barton said the woman and girl were clinging to the cliff wall on the opposite side of the river from the park river access, calling for help. Barton said the two adult male bystanders jumped into the water to help, and they, too, had to be rescued by High Ridge Fire crews.
“(The bystanders) helped them get away from the wall but then they were still stuck on the opposite side of the river, and we had to use a boat to get everybody back to safety,” Barton said. “The mother of the 12-year-old was back on shore, and she was obviously pretty distraught and concerned about her child. From what we understand, they were overcome by the current and they were hanging on the rock wall trying to stay afloat.
“The mother reported that she saw her daughter go underwater a couple of times while they were trying to hang onto that wall.”
Barton said the four people rescued from the water refused medical assistance when brought back to shore.
He said two High Ridge Fire boats were brought to the scene, along with Eureka Fire Protection District’s inflatable boat. He said water rescues at Rockford Park require virtually all personnel to be on the scene.
“Essentially, all of our stations respond down there because, depending on the circumstances, the rescue can be intensive and require a lot of people,” he said. “For every person we have in the water, we need at least one or two people on shore standing by in case something was to happen to them. We send every resource we have.”
This is the second incident this summer where bystanders jumped into the water to assist those drowning or struggling against the river’s strong current. Barton said the bystanders are very close to becoming victims themselves when they rush to help those struggling in the water.
“When you approach somebody in trouble in the water, they’re fighting for their life and they will literally climb on top of you and push you underwater just to get some air and get to the surface,” Barton said.
He said this year High Ridge Fire has responded to five water rescue calls at the Big River access point at Rockford Park. Last year, he said there were two drownings on the river and a third rescue.
“The (Jefferson County) Sheriff’s Office had extra patrols (at the park) for parts of the weekend, which is helping with crowd size,” Barton said. “We’re concerned every weekend with the amount of people down there.”
Barton said the mother found Rockford Park listed on social media as a good place to swim. He said the victims did not heed signs at the park, which warn that sections of the river are hazardous to swimming and wading. The signs do not ban swimming or wading, though.
“Apparently, the mom said the 12-year-old daughter pointed out one of the signs before getting into the water,” he said. “She still got into the water.”
Barton said he will continue to warn parkgoers of the dangers of the Big River, and his crews will continue to respond to future calls for water rescues there.
In March, the Jefferson County Council voted to change the name of the park from Rockford Beach Park to Rockford Park. The vote also approved legislation to ban the use of alcohol and recreational marijuana there.
Councilman Brian Haskins (District 1, High Ridge) had proposed an ordinance that also would have prohibited swimming at the park, however, Councilman Bob Tullock (District 7, House Springs) amended the bill to keep swimming at the park.
“When I was down there Sunday (June 30), there was a family that pulled up, asked if it was OK to swim there,” Barton said. “I said ‘no, you’re taking a chance of drowning’ and so they drove off. They wound up just parking in a different area of the lot, walking down and getting in the water.
“It’s a little bit frustrating but all we can do is continue to try and get the word out to everybody that this is not a safe place to swim. Ultimately, it’s up to them to make the right decision. If they don’t and they get in trouble, we respond to help.”