JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — Authorities have identified the man who drowned last month in the Big River in unincorporated Jefferson County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified the victim as Andres Gutierrez of Mexico.
High Ridge Fire Department Chief John Barton said firefighters were dispatched at about 3:25 p.m. on Aug. 12 to a water rescue at Rockford Beach, just west of the intersection of State Route 30 and State Road W.
People at the scene told firefighters Gutierrez, 43, was last seen floating in the Big River before he went underwater and didn't resurface.
Several boats and a drone were used to try to locate the man. Using sonar equipment, firefighters found his body about an hour later in a section of the river that was about 8 feet deep.
Barton said Gutierrez had tried to cross the river on rocks that span its width when a strong current pulled him under.
The drowning marked the second time this year that someone died in water near the beach. In early July, Hamsa Mohamed, 41, of St. Louis, drowned after he jumped into the Big River from a cliff.
Less than a week after Mohamed's death, the beach was closed because the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department said vehicles and large crowds were affecting its ability to respond to emergencies.
The department said numerous fights, assaults, thefts and underage drinking also led to its decision to close for two weekends.
Emergency responders couldn't access the beach because of the volume of vehicles, some of which were illegally parked, department spokesman Grant Bissell said.
"This place has just been absolutely packed and way, way past capacity," Bissell said. "Over the Fourth of July weekend, there were hundreds if not over a thousand people out here. And if you look around, we only have roughly 40 parking spots."
The beach reopened three weeks prior to Gutierrez's death with a sheriff's deputy on site to help control overcrowding and other issues.