Missouri election workers drown in Wright County flash flood on the way to polls
Two Missouri election workers drowned Tuesday morning in Wright County when rising floodwaters from Beaver Creek swept their car off the road.
The deceased, a 70-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman, were residents of Mountain Grove in southeastern Missouri, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The couple were in one of three cars that were swept off of State Route H in a flash flood near Beaver Creek around 4:30 a.m. .
A total of five people were riding in the three vehicles carried off in the floodwaters near Manes according to the MSHP. The three passengers in the other two cars were able to escape their vehicles and swim to shore.
The older couple was found deceased in their car around 8:45 a.m. following rescue attempts from MSHP Troop G and the Missouri Department of Conservation. A Wright County coroner had declared the couple deceased just before 7 a.m. when they still had not been found.
The Wright County Clerk’s office confirmed that the pair were Wright County poll workers, who had been on their way to open the polls when they were caught in the flood.
“This situation is unfortunately common across Troop G and MO,” Troop G agents wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday morning.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol declined to share an update Tuesday afternoon on the ongoing investigation into the drownings. The two deceased poll workers, who have not been publicly identified, were transported to a funeral home in Mountain Grove early Tuesday.
Following days of heavy rainfall earlier in the week, MSHP agents issued warnings Nov. 4 advising residents to avoid flood risk by staying off of water-covered roads across Wright County.
