20-year-old’s drowning is 3rd fatality in ‘River of Death’ in 2025, MO cops say
A 20-year-old Texan drowned in a Missouri river that has earned a grim nickname from local officials, Missouri troopers say.
The victim, from Austin, was in a raft on the Meramec River in Franklin County on Sunday, Aug. 25, when he went into the water and didn’t resurface, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
His body was found when first responders used sonar, authorities said. The man’s name was not released.
He is the third person to drown this year in the Meramec River, which is sometimes called the “River of Death” because of its “long history of drownings,” KSDK reported.
“This river can be very unforgiving, especially for someone who doesn’t know how to swim. The river’s really dangerous,” local resident Jim Strebler told KSDK.
City officials in Arnold, Missouri, say pioneers first gave it the “River of Death” name — or “Waters of Death” — due to the frequent drownings.
The Meramec River spans 218 miles through Missouri.
On Aug. 6, a 65-year-old man drowned in the river when he fell overboard off a canoe, according to the highway patrol.
Two months before his death, a 17-year-old boy drowned when he became tired and was pulled under water by a current, authorities said.
Franklin County, where the Texan drowned, is about a 60-mile drive southwest from St. Louis.