Teen Drowns At St. Francis River Saturday Afternoon – Fourth Drowning In One Week Statewide

For the fourth time in just over a week, the highway patrol reports a drowning.

This one happened late Saturday afternoon at the Sam A. Baker Campground along the St. Francis River in Wayne County.

The report says the 19-year-old was not wearing a safety device was swimming when he began to struggle and panicked before submerging and failing to resurface.

He was pronounced dead on the scene.

The other three drownings this past week happened along the Gasconade River in Osage County, on Table Rock Lake in Taney County and along the Meramec River in Crawford County.

So far this year, statewide, the highway patrol has reported 34 drownings.