COLD MISHAP: MAN LOCATED IN WATER IN STABLE CONDITION

MARBLE HILL -- A 44-year-old St. Francois County man is in stable condition at a Cape Girardeau hospital after he was found Friday morning nearly frozen to death, sitting chest-deep in Castor River backwater west of Grassy.

The Bollinger County Sheriff's Department said a passing motorist found Gary F. Ward of rural Farmington shortly before 11 a.m.

Ward was sitting in chest-high water near the Castor River in an advanced stage of hypothermia.

Ward was airlifted by air ambulance to Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau in critical condition. A spokesperson reported late Saturday afternoon that Ward was in stable condition in the intensive care unit, and that he was improving.

Because of his condition, Ward has been unable to talk to sheriff's deputies about the incident. But authorities feel there was no foul play.

Investigators said Ward's car was found partially submerged in the Castor River, near Bollinger County Route Y. Deputies theorize Ward may have turned off Route Y onto a dirt road that dead ends at the Castor River. They believe Ward might have been trying to turn around when he accidently drove the vehicle into the river.

Authorities said they found a lot of gear from Ward's vehicle setting on the edge of the riverbank, as if he had tried to get it out of the partially submerged car.

"At this point, we really don't know what happened out there," said one deputy. "But we're pretty sure it was an accident.