JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. — The Missouri Highway State Patrol has identified a man who drowned in the Big River last month. Andres Gutierrez was walking across some rocks at Rockford Beach during the afternoon of August 12 when he went into the water. He never resurfaced.
There have been two drownings, including this one, at Rockford Beach in 2023. Part of the problem is how people access the bluffs above the water. There has been a drop in the number of people going there after warnings from local officials.
“What we believe happened is that he was walking along this rock rapid area, possibly slipped on the rocks, and went into the water,” Chief John Barton, High Ridge Fire Protection District, told FOX 2 in August.
The crowds of people visiting the beach had been an issue. Law enforcement could not get down to the site of a medical emergency near the water earlier this season.
