Woman rescued from car in pond, then charged with stealing it

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff woman believes God put her in the right place at the right time Tuesday morning to help rescue a woman trapped in a partially submerged car.

The trapped woman was later arrested on suspicion of stealing the car.

While it took more than an hour for Carol C. Langston's screams to lead searchers to her location in a pond along Marble Hill Road, the 54-year-old escaped serious injury.

Langston's screams were first heard about 10:30 a.m.

At that time, Rhonda Roth was hauling hay in a field along Marble Hill Road when she took a break and shut off her tractor.

"I kept hearing what I thought were kids yelling ... ongoing, nonstop," Roth said. "It wasn't normal."

Roth said the yelling went on and after about 30 minutes became sporadic. "Then I could clearly hear a woman yelling 'Help me,'" she said.

Roth called 911. She and Butler County sheriff's deputies began searching for the woman.

"Everybody was hearing it, but we couldn't figure out where it was coming from," Roth said.

The car, a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am, was found 75 to 100 feet from the road in a pond. It couldn't be seen from the road because of high weeds.

Butler County fire chief Bob Fredwell waded out into the pond to rescue Langston, who was placed on a backboard and hauled to an ambulance on the back of an ATV.

As EMS personnel tended to Langston, Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper N.L. Wheeles investigated how Langston ended up in the pond.

"She claims another vehicle ran her off the road," Wheeles said.

Langston was southbound, he said, drove off the right side of the road, overcorrected, crossed Marble Hill Road, then drove through the field into the pond. The car floated to the far side of the pond, which was deep enough for the car to completely submerge, Wheeles said. Authorities found it about three-quarters submerged.

"She's lucky," Fredwell said, that the car didn't turn upside-down.

Roth described Langston as having been "really shook up" when they found her.

"I just think God put me in the right place at the right time," Roth said. "I usually don't turn off the tractor. When we're in the field, it's constant movement."

Langston was taken to Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, where she was treated and released.

Langston, of Poplar Bluff, was arrested at 2 p.m. on suspicion of stealing a motor vehicle and booked at the Butler County Jail.

According to Poplar Bluff police report, the car allegedly had been stolen from a residence in the 800 block of Adam Street.

Pertinent address:

Marble Hill Road, Poplar Bluff, Mo.