// a href = ./ //

Two dogs wandered away from their home and fell into a sinkhole in Southern Illinois, but there is a happy ending to this story.

Around 2 PM Wednesday, a pair of hikers in the Stemler Cave Nature Preserve, between Columbia and Millstadt, Illinois, heard the sound of whimpering dogs.

The hikers followed the sound to the opening of a large sink hole. Emergency crews from both Columbia and Millstadt responded and were able to pull the two Dobermans, named Bullet and Legend, from the 60 foot deep hole.

The dogs were returned their owner with no serious injuries.

St. Charles County Sheriff's deputies say two people are now safe after their pickup truck ran off the road into the flood waters of the swollen  (peru) Peruque Creek.  

It happened about 5 a.m. at Highway 79 and Firma Road.  One of the people in the truck got out right away and went to a nearby farm for help. Authorities say the car was in an area barricaded because it often floods from the creek and heavy rain had been falling. No word yet if charges would be filed.

Rescue crews with the O'Fallon, Missouri fire department pulled the second person out of the water just after 5:30 a.m.  

 LEADWOOD, Mo. (AP) - A Leadwood, Missouri man is being credited with saving the life of a 12-year-old boy, jumping into a flooded river to pull the child to safety.

   The Park Hills Daily Journal reports that the child, from Leadwood, Mo., is hospitalized in critical but stable condition after being rescued Sunday evening from the Big River.

   Witnesses and police say the boy and two others were trying to cross a bridge that was flooding. The boy fell into the water near a culvert pipe and the force of the water sucked him into the pipe.

   He emerged from the other end of the pipe and was floating down the swift-moving river when resident Robert Salsberry was able to grab the boy, pull him to a small island and perform CPR.

A kayaker is safe this morning following a dramatic rescue from the Missouri River Sunday afternoon.  

Firefighters report  that around 4:30 p.m. witnesses saw the man's kayak flip, throwing him into the water.  His kayak broke apart and sank.  

It happened between Howell Island and the St. Louis County riverbank west of Chesterfield Valley and Spirit of St. Louis Airport.  

Fire officials say the man stayed afloat by clinging to a log until rescuers reached him.  He was taken to a hospital to be evaluated for hypothermia.