A 28-year-old woman from Swansea, Il. was found by law enforcement officers early this morning, Aug. 16, in House Springs after she was reported missing at Rockford Park Thursday night, Aug. 15.
The woman was found at approximately 5 a.m. near the McDonald’s in House Springs, at the intersection of Hwy. W and Hwy. 30, by Byrnes Mill Police Officer Hunter Kelemen.
High Ridge Fire Protection District was called to Rockford Park for a water rescue at 8:20 p.m. after a friend lost sight of the woman, Fire Chief John Barton said. The woman was last seen walking near the restrooms in the park and her towel was left on a boat ramp near the Big River access point at the park, he said.
The friend called 911 fearing the woman had fallen into the river and did not resurface, Barton said. Jefferson County Sheriff's Office spokesman Grant Bissell said the man searched for the woman for 30-40 minutes before calling for emergency services.
“The initial dispatch was for a water rescue but when we arrived on the scene, we determined it was actually a missing person who was unaccounted for,” he said. “No one had seen her in the water.”
Emergency agencies launched a water and ground search at the park, using boats to scan the riverbanks, Barton said. A drone was deployed to search from above, and one of the crews on the river used a sonar device to search underwater.
The search was suspended at 10:15 p.m. due to severe weather in the area, Barton said.
“We have to search if she’s in danger or distress, but it was just as possible last night that she intentionally left where she was at and did not want to be found,” Barton said. “There were no witnesses that had any information about what was going on. Even the person she was with had very little information.”
This is the ninth emergency water rescue call this summer High Ridge Fire has responded to at the Big River access point in Rockford Park, Barton said. Cedar Hill and Eureka Fire Protection Districts also were on the scene during the search along with the Big River Ambulance District and Missouri State Water Patrol.
Byrnes Mill Police Chief Frank T. Selvaggio said Officer Kelemen provided businesses in the nearby area with a description of the missing woman on the night of the search.
“I believe it was somebody from Circle K who called and said they thought they saw someone matching the description,” Selvaggio said. “(Kelemen) went and checked the area and found the girl.”
Bissell said the woman was picked up by a friend and was otherwise unharmed, although she might have been cold as she was still in a swimsuit when authorities located her.
“We’re very thankful she’s safe and there was a good outcome to the call,” Selvaggio said. “There’s been so many tragedies down there at that river, it’s nice to have kind of a win this time.”