The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports a close call for a Gentry County man during this week’s flooding.

Troopers responded to a call for assistance from the Gentry County Sheriff’s Department shortly after 9am Thursday. The man had been walking along 285th Street west of Route B when he was swept into the flood water. He was found clinging to a tree above the water line.

A trooper wearing swift-water gear entered the water and threw the man a life jacket and rope. Just after 10 am, the Missouri Department of Conservation arrived with a boat. Two agents and one trooper retried the man. The victim refused medical attention.

The patrol says situations like this have ended in tragedy in the past. They say pedestrians should never attempt to wade through moving flood waters.