County of tree: Franklin County
Location of tree: MO-47 & 5th St., Krog Park, Washington
Dedication sponsored by: Little Rascals Preschool
Dedication plaque:
In Loving Memory of
JAMIE HOLDMEIER
by Little Rascals Preschool
"When a sudden storm exploded over Washington, Mo., Sandra M. Sullentrup and her young cousins huddled in a small closet on the family pontoon boat to escape the driving rain and pounding waves. Instead, it proved a death trap.
"A blast of wind capsized the boat and trapped the three, who drowned, officials said Monday. In all, the violent storm that rolled over Washington on Sunday afternoon was blamed for four deaths.
"The lightning, the rain, the thunder, the wind . . . It was almost like we went from zero to 100 in seconds," said the Rev. Mike Oslance, of St. Francis Borgia Catholic Church in Washington. "The lightning was so strong; it was unreal."
"Sullentrup, 22, and sisters Jamie E. Holdmeier, 7, and Julie E. Holdmeier, 3, drowned. All three were wearing life preservers.
"Also killed in Sunday's thunderstorm was Mary Chott, 29, of St. Clair, Mo. Authorities say a tree apparently fell on her head at a recreational area along Big Indian Creek, about eight miles south of St. Clair in Franklin County.
"Chott was taken to Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan, where she was pronounced dead.
"Jim Kramper of the National Weather Service said the storm that downed trees and power lines in Washington formed about 1:15 p.m. Sunday in Ralls County, about 70 miles north of Washington. It was, he said, a pulse storm - a kind that can dissipate, then reform as it feeds on gusts of cool air that lift the warm air skyward.
"Kramper said the storm had weakened as it marched across Lincoln and Warren counties. As a result, the weather service didn't issue a storm warning for Franklin County.
"When the storm reached southern Warren County it began to boil again. The sky appeared so threatening the Washington Police Department sounded the town's five storm sirens at 3:53 p.m.
Trapped In Water
"Julie and Jamie's father, Dale W. Holdmeier, was steering the boat when the accident occurred about 4 p.m. They were on the Missouri River within site of the Highway 47 bridge near Washington.
"Holdmeier, his wife, Lisa M. Holdmeier, and two other adults were thrown into the water as the boat flipped over. Other boaters raced to help as the pontoon boat drifted in the current near the north shore.
"A jet ski operator raced across foot-high waves to a boat ramp on the south shore in downtown Washington and called 911.
"Bill Halmich, chief of the all-volunteer Washington Fire Department, got the call as he drove to a transformer fire - one of dozens of emergencies the storm triggered.
"Halmich drove to the boat ramp where Michael Danz, Sullentrup's fiance, met Halmich in the driving rain. Danz had been on a jet ski while the Holdmeiers were on their cruise.
'"Sunday afternoon boat rides are something everybody does around here when the weather is good," Halmich said. And the weather had been fine Sunday, a balmy 86 degrees.
"Firefighter Joe Klak, 26, was in the first rescue boat to reach the overturned boat. Klak saw four boaters standing on the overturned hull. People on shore were trying to pull the boat in with a ski line."
~ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, By Judith Vandewater And My Linh Nguyen