Law enforcement searching for missing person after car entered flood waters

Authorities are searching for a missing person after a vehicle entered the water Thursday evening near Fordland.

A vehicle with three people inside entered the water Finley River Crossing on State Route Z. Two people were rescued, but the third couldn't be found, according to a post on social media from the Logan Rogersville Fire Protection District.

Search and rescue efforts have been underway to locate the missing person as of Friday morning, said Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Mike McClure.

With flood warnings still in effect, McClure said the highway patrol will hopefully have a boat in the water soon to start searching. Law enforcement personnel from the highway patrol and Webster County Sheriff's office had been searching the shoreline on foot.

The vehicle occupants were from the area, McClure said. It's law enforcement's understanding that there may have been water over the road and the driver took the vehicle into the water.

"It's just a low-lying area where the water is running under the road under normal circumstances, and it crested during the night and flooded over," McClure said.

With ongoing rain still happening across the region, McClure said drivers should take their time and avoid crossing water over the road at all costs.

"Wait until it quits raining and the water to go down," he said. "Find an alternate route, there's always an alternate route."

McClure reminded southwest Missouri residents that nearly every spring sees an inundation of heavy rains with water cresting the roadway.

"We have to be very mindful of our surroundings and the weather, and do not cross the streams, regardless," McClure cautioned. "Even if it looks shallow, the road may not be intact underneath."

This is a developing story. Further updates will be shared as they are made available.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Law enforcement searching for missing person after car entered water