Woman presumed dead after vehicle swept away by floodwaters west of Columbia

COLUMBIA, Missouri (KMIZ)

A woman is presumed dead after her vehicle was swept away by floodwaters on Perche Creek west of Columbia on Wednesday.

The elderly woman was in a vehicle with a man when they became trapped in the floodwaters, said Gale Blomenkamp, ​​spokesman for the Boone County Fire Protection District. The woman’s body had not been recovered as of Wednesday afternoon.

The couple was driving home from Columbia, Blomenkamp said.

Rescue workers rescued two people from the vehicle, Blomenkamp said. One of them was a passerby – a landscape gardener who came to the aid of the two people trapped in the vehicle.

Emergency crews were called to Gillespie Bridge and Coats Lane, an area near Perche Creek marked with signs warning of flooding during heavy rain. Flash flooding hit Mid-Missouri on Wednesday after overnight storms dumped several inches of rain on the area, including more than 4 inches on Columbia’s Sanborn Field.

An ABC 17 News reporter on the scene saw firefighters working in the floodwaters but was not allowed to get close enough to see the vehicle.

According to county authorities, Route EE northwest of Columbia also remained flooded.

Immediately after the emergency call, the emergency dispatch center issued a public warning that Gillespie Bridge Road was closed due to flooding.

Nine patrol cars from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office and the Columbia Police Department were on the scene, as well as an ambulance and five Boone County Fire Protection District vehicles near Gillespie Bridge Road and Coats Lane. Additionally, four more police vehicles were on the other side.

The possibility of further flooding is included in the forecast. The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for much of central Missouri through Thursday night.

The weather service does not maintain a gauge on Perche Creek. However, Hinkson Creek, which also flows through the Columbia area and into the Missouri River, reached a moderate flood stage on Wednesday morning.

Audrain County Emergency Management said Wednesday afternoon that a water rescue was underway on County Road 820.

Two teenagers were also rescued when their UTV was swept away by the floodwaters off Osage County Road 423, Sheriff Mike Bonham said. The teenagers were in good condition but were taken to a hospital as a precaution, he said.

Two kayakers also had to be rescued from an island in the Gasconade River, Bonham said.

Check back later for updates on this breaking story.