Family, pets rescued from flood-surrounded campground

A couple and their two pets were rescued from rising waters Monday afternoon when the swelling Castor River threatened their safety.

According to Mark Hasheider of Cape Girardeau Fire Department Water Rescue, the people, who were not identified, were living as permanent residents in a trailer in one of the campgrounds on the Castor River in northern Bollinger County.

Their trailer was on a high point of the campground, and though they had been warned Sunday to evacuate, they decided to stay because they had stayed safely in previous floods without evacuating.

They were advised Monday to evacuate before dark because a night rescue would be too dangerous. When they tried to evacuate, Hasheider said, rising water blocked their escape route.

The residents and their pets were rescued safely and are staying with friends nearby. So far, Hasheider said, their trailer has not been flooded. Several other camping trailers in the campgrounds were under water, and others had been moved before the river overflowed.

In addition to the Cape Girardeau water rescue, the Glenallen Fire Department, Bollinger County Emergency Services and the Missouri State Highway Patrol responded.

Cape Girardeau Fire Department Water Rescue is part of a regional technical team equipped and staffed to do water rescue throughout the area. Hasheider said it has assisted in water rescues as far away as Doniphan, Missouri.