5 soldiers who drowned in Missouri floods identified

Five international soldiers who were on holiday leave during a temporary assignment at Fort Leonard Wood drowned when their car went off a dark, rural highway in southwest Missouri.

The soldiers were returning to the fort from Osage Beach Saturday night when their car was swept off Highway U near Crocker, about 15 miles northwest of Fort Leonard Wood, Pulaski County Sheriff Ron Long said.

All five soldiers were attending officer education at the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, a program that brings troops from other countries to the installation to study engineering, military policing and chemical defense.

The victims were identified Wednesday as Maj. Mohammad Hassan Ibrahim, 32, Egypt; Maj. Akram Abu Al-rub, 38, Jordan; Capt. Ahmed Moussouni, 32, Algeria; Capt. Ahmed Abdelghani, 29, Egypt; and Capt. Hasman Hussin, 33, Malaysia. Fort officials said the bodies are being returned to the men's home countries for burial.

The bodies of four of the trainees were recovered Sunday and the fifth was found Tuesday.

"Some were recovered in the car and outside it," Long told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1NWjtbt). "The last one was way downstream."

The men were driving back to the fort after a shopping trip, he said. A witness reported seeing the car go off the road about 8:30 p.m. Saturday and quickly lost sight of the car floating away.

"It's just a very dark and rural highway, and I am sure they had no idea of what was ahead of them until they got into the water," Long said. "Most of the time, these roads are traveled by people who know what lies ahead. They don't venture off into the water."

Bagnell Dam flood gates still open

After opening all 12 flood gates at Bagnell Dam Saturday to account for recent heavy rains, Ameren Missouri reduced them to 10 percent open, running at 50,000 cubic feet per second, on Wednesday.

The flood gates at the Ameren Missouri Osage Energy Center were open at 25 percent Monday, with two of the 12 gates running at 40 percent for a period of time.

As of Wednesday, the Lake of the Ozarks water level was 661.4 feet above sea level and falling, with Ameren officials expecting the Osage River level to fall 4 feet by the end of the day. Full pool is 660 feet, and the lake level was at more than 663 feet on Monday - higher than it reached during July's flooding.

Search continutes for missing duck hunter

Authorities are searching in a flooded southwest Missouri conservation area for a missing duck hunter.

Sgt. John H. Lueckenhoff, of the Missouri Highway Patrol, says the hunter disappeared this weekend from the Four Rivers Conservation Area in Vernon County. Lueckenhoff says the hunter's boat, dog and waders have been located. The man's name and age weren't immediately released.

Search crews are using patrol boats equipped with sonar equipment in the search. Lueckenhoff says a dive team is on standby to recover the hunter.

Lueckenhoff described the deluge that caused the flooding as "absolutely incredible." A search also is underway in Polk County for a man whose vehicle was caught in floodwaters.

Record amount of water released from Table Rock Lake

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it is releasing a record amount of water from the Table Rock Lake dam in response to recent flooding.

The Corps says it was releasing 72,000 cubic feet of water per second on Tuesday. The previous record was 69,000 cubic feet per second during floods in 2011.

That means nearly 539,000 gallons are going out of the dam into Lake Taneycomo every second.

Corps spokesman Miles Brown says the lake is still rising, causing more water to rush through 10 spillway gates and the hydropower turbines. He says the Corps currently doesn't plan to open more floodgates.

The flooding has not affected the Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery directly below Table Rock dam.

Humane Society to aid in pet rescues from floods

The Humane Society of Missouri has opened emergency centers for pets in two St. Louis-area locations where flooding is causing significant damage.

The centers will board pets of people who have been forced to evacuate after record flooding in the region.

One is in Arnold, the other in Ballwin. Both are close to the Meramec River, where record crests are being recorded after more than 10 inches of rain fell during a three-day period.

Evacuees can also take pets to the Humane Society's headquarters in St. Louis for boarding.

Authorities identify man killed in Lawrence County flooding

Authorities have identified a man who was killed in flooding in southwest Missouri.

The Missouri Highway Patrol identified the victim as 37-year-old Christopher A. Sperandio, of Verona. Authorities found his body Tuesday on the shoreline of a stream in Lawrence County. The discovery was made after his vehicle was found downstream of a low-water crossing.

He is among 13 people who have drowned in flooding in Missouri since the weekend. Twelve were in vehicles that drove into flooded roads.