Rains cause river level to stop receding at Caruthersville, Mo.

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. — Danny Dodson, the Pemiscot County Emergency Management Director, said this morning the Mississippi River at Caruthersville was trying to recede until the latest rains.

The rains in the immediate area, he said, are not of great concern for Caruthersville's river stage, but the rains north of here are what affect the stage of the river at Caruthersville. As of Monday morning, the river stood at 39.1 feet.

Dodson said the river has to reach 44 feet before it reaches the floodwalls here, and it has to reach 50 feet before causing major problems. Presently, the river is at the bottom of the levee, he said.

After a round of thunderstorms passed through the area Monday night, the region can expect a couple of dry days before another storm moves in on Thursday, according to weather forecasters.

The region received almost an inch of rain Monday. The forecast models used by the National Weather Service disagree on the total amount of rain to expect Thursday. Rains have kept the ground saturated, although area rivers and waterways have receded a bit, and that makes the Thursday storms potentially very dangerous, according to Alex Dodd, a meteorologist at the weather office at Paducah, Ky.

One model predicts 4 to 5 inches of rain, while another indicates 3 to 4 inches will fall beginning Thursday. The storm will bring a lengthy period of rain, Dodd said.

Dodson said area authorities continue to search for John Owens of Caruthersville, who is believed to have drowned in the floodwaters nine days ago.

Rescue and now recovery efforts have been underway since a week ago Friday, Dodson said. A helicopter from Mississippi County, Tenn., has been used in the search, as have personnel from the state water patrol, and now cadaver dogs from Shelby County, Tenn.

Dodson said Owens had been helping prepare sandbags at an old Club House located at White's Hole. "It was getting late," Dodson said, "when he apparently decided to go home.

"The water comes in quick there and he apparently got stuck. It appears he remained in his Jeep for a while and then got out and sat on top of it. Considering the cold weather, he must have decided he had to try to get out. He has not been seen since."