The Barry County Swiftwater Rescue Team was involved in a pair of rescues on Sunday, one just outside Cassville and the other in rural Wheaton.

Derek Acheson, Cassville Volunteer Fire Protection District chief, said the first incident was called in at 5:08 a.m. on Sunday. Two adult females, an adult male and a dog were trapped in a stalled vehicle on
Farm Road 2200, east of Farm Road 1110 and southwest of Hilltop.

“When en route, we requested the Barry County Swiftwater Team, and members from Monett Rural, Monett City, Purdy and Cassville responded,” Acheson said. “Our Station No. 2 guys reached the area first. The vehicle was stalled in a low water crossing that is generally dry, but 6-7 inches of rain leaves nothing dry.”

Acheson said the group was headed home when the driver attempted to cross the flash flood waters in the small SUV, stalling in an area where the water reached the windows of the vehicle. The occupants called 9-1-1 and were instructed to climb on top of the vehicle to await rescue.

Acheson said Cassville responders performed a walk-out rescue for the first two victims, and the Swiftwater Rescue Team helped with the other two.

Acheson said the response time was about 20 minutes, a number he would like to see drop.

“I’d rather that be a lot quicker, but that’s the price we pay with all volunteers,” he said. “They got pretty lucky the car died where it did. They were approaching the main channel and faster water.”

Acheson said no one was injured, and all occupants denied medical care from the Mercy crew on
the scene. A Cassville Fire vehicle transported the group to their residence.

The Swiftwater Team was on call again at 11:27 p.m., this time to an area in rural Wheaton in a
creek bed not listed on the national flood maps.

Nick Mercer, Purdy Fire Protection District chief and Swiftwater Team chief, said the occu pants, an adult male and a juvenile male, were also on their way home when they drove into the water on Farm Road 2190, a few hundred feet inside McDonald County but still within the Wheaton Fire District, at about 10:20 10:30 p.m. The vehicle was swept off the roadway into the creek bed.

Mercer said the pair reported they remained in the vehicle, a smaller pickup truck with a small cargo
trailer, for about 30 minutes. They then climbed out of the vehicle and off the trailer to dry land and
located an abandoned house with a working landline, from which they called 9-1-1. There was no
cell service in the area.

The call went to McDonald County, which requested Mercer’s team. The page, Mercer said, goes to Swiftwater Team members in five area Departments.

“We formed up and met at the incident,” he said. “There was probably 3-4 feet of rushing water at the vehicle, and it was even deeper where we entered. I was the first on the scene, and it took us about 45
minutes to get there. Other responders coming from the other direction were cut off and had to find
alternate routes.”

Mercer said the vehicle occupants had made it to dry land but were still trapped by water, as the creek split around the dry land they had found. No one sustained any injuries in the incident.

“The Swiftwater Team has great cooperation and communication, and we can do this pretty safely,”
Mercer said.

Acheson said he hopes the incidents serve as warnings to others that may attempt to cross flash flood waters as a result of heavy rain.

“Unfortunately, we can preach and preach, and ‘Turn Around, Don’t Drown’ may be one of the catchiest phrases out there,” he said. “But, for some people, you can tell them the fire is hot and they won’t believe you until they touch it. The big gest thing in flash floods is for people to adhere to safety messages from first responders.”

David Compton, Barry County Emergency Management director, said there were no major issues outside of the rescues as a result of the flooding. He said over the course of the weekend, from Friday night to Sunday evening, northern Barry County received about 4 inches of rain, and southern Barry County received about 4.75 inches. Localized areas may have received more.

National Weather Service reports showed on Saturday, Route C east of Purdy was closed due to flooding on Flat Creek, as was Highway 76 east of Hilltop, south of Cassville.

Reports Sunday includ ed: tree limbs down on two vehicles and the cor ner of a house three miles south-southwest of Shell Knob; a tree down in Seligman; numerous trees and some power lines down in Monett; and the closure of Highway Y, two miles north-northeast of Cassville, due to flooding.