ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Road crews and emergency responders continued their work at the site of flooding in South County on Wednesday.
At least two people were found dead along Gravois Creek on Tuesday.
A grieving woman carrying flowers walked the bridge on Bayless Avenue on Wednesday. She said her nephew was one of the people who died, believed to be due to flooding.
“All I know is he got off the highway on his way to work; I believe it was around 6 a.m.” she said.
FOX 2 is not identifying her because the St. Louis County Police have not identified the victims at this point. St. Louis County Police say a man was found in the creek around 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday near Avenue H.
“He was a great dad, a really great husband. He was just a really good guy,” the woman said.
Another woman was found dead in flood waters near the intersection of Bayless Avenue and Interstate 55. A businessman who works near that intersection said he has been in that location since 1988, and this is the worst flooding he has seen. He said 16 inches of water got into his building.
“It’s been flooding for the last couple of years. This was probably the worst I’ve seen in the last couple of years,” Affton Fire District Assistant Chief Aaron Rhodes said.
After at least 10 water rescues on Tuesday, emergency crews were back out Wednesday searching the area with drones.
“We don’t want to miss anything. We want to double check, and we triple check everything that we do just to make sure that there wasn’t a car that washed away that maybe didn’t have anyone that knew they were traveling at the time of the floods,” Rhodes added.
The bridge over Gravois Creek on Bayless Avenue is currently under construction. The county is working to replace the bridge in a project that is scheduled to end sometime next summer. Some people wondered if this bridge construction could have made the flooding worse and if enough road barriers were in place.
“Two people lost their lives, which would have stopped if they had barriers, I believe. You don’t go through them,” the victim’s relative said.
County transportation and public works declined an interview due to the ongoing police investigation but said the bridge on Bayless Avenue was closed prior to the flooding.
St. Louis County Police are still waiting to positively identify both victims.