Two members of the Missouri Highway Patrol were named State Employees of the Month for September.
On April 30, Crawford County authorities called for a water rescue on the Meramec River near Bird's Nest Lodge. There were three people in the water clinging to trees.
Sgt. Kurt Merseal and Cpl. Bryan Silverthorn responded and found two juvenile girls and an adult man clinging to trees about 45 feet from the shore. One of the girls was losing her grip on the tree.
Merseal rushed into the water and swam to the girl, rescuing her. Eventually Merseal and Silverthorn were able to get life jackets on the three and bring them safely to shore.
During the last week of April, the National Weather Service had predicted a major weather event with large amounts of rain across the Midwest. Merseal and Silverthorn are based out of the patrol's Troop I headquarters in Rolla, and during that time, rivers in the troop's coverage area entered major flood stage, reaching record levels in many areas.
When Merseal and Silverthorn performed this rescue, the Meramac had reached a record flood stage of 36.5 feet and was several hundred feet wide. The two were not able to get a boat to the area where the rescue occurred, and they had to rely on their rescue swimming training to get to the victims and save them.
The man the troopers rescued, James Williams, of Steelville, told authorities: "The officers did everything to save us. My girlfriend's youngest daughter, Kenzie Keller, 10, lost her grip and Sgt. Merseal dove into the water and got her back to the tree. Cpl. Silverthorn swam to Jesse Keller, 14, and got her to shore. They were amazing and made me feel safe."