Missing I-35 victims found dead

? The death toll from the raging waters that swept cars off the Kansas Turnpike during the weekend rose to six Tuesday, when searchers recovered the bodies of a Texas man and the mother of four children who also drowned.

The body of Melissa Rogers, 33, of Glenaire, Mo., was found around 7:30 a.m. about 2 miles from the turnpike, which also is designated as U.S. Interstate 35, in a reservoir pond, Emporia Fire Chief Jack Taylor said. The body of Al Larsen, 31, of Fort Worth, Texas, was found in the same general area about two hours later.

Larsen and the Rogers family drowned after heavy rain sent a 6-foot wall of water over turnpike late Saturday about 11 miles south of Emporia. Rogers’ husband, Robert, 37, survived.

Kansas Highway Patrol Capt. Mark Conboy said he was present shortly after Robert Rogers was told his wife’s body had been found.

“He was extremely strong,” Conboy said. “People were breaking down around him; he was holding onto them.”

No one from either family attended the news conference where it was announced that the bodies had been found. Officials said family members didn’t want to speak with reporters.

Taylor said the bodies were found north of where they were swept off the turnpike, near where Jacob Creek spills into the pond. The creek, which normally is dry, runs beneath the roadway.

Chase County Fire Chief Mark Davis, who directed search efforts at the pond, said searchers in two boats spotted the bodies near the surface of the pond. He said Larsen family members were at the on-site command center, but didn’t see the body being removed.

Sunday, searchers found the bodies of the four Rogers children. Zachary, 5; Nicholas, 3; and Alenah, 1, were found strapped into their car seats in the family’s overturned minivan. The fourth child, 8-year-old Makenah, was found three-quarters of a mile from the vehicle.

Taylor said the minivan was found in the creek bed about 1 1/2 miles from where it was swept off the turnpike along with six other vehicles.

On Monday, Robert Rogers told reporters that when the wall of water first hit the turnpike, he thought his family was safe because the van was pushed up against a large concrete barrier.

That heavy barrier and others eventually gave way, sending the van off the turnpike. Rogers said he kicked out the window but was quickly pulled from the vehicle by the rushing water.

Officials said it was the first time that area had flooded in the 50-year history of the turnpike, which includes Interstate 35 from Emporia to the Oklahoma border. Authorities said less than a quarter-mile of roadway was damaged. Traffic remained restricted Tuesday to a single lane in each direction as repair work got under way.

In Topeka, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told reporters Tuesday she would have officials from the highway patrol, Department of Transportation and Kansas Turnpike Authority review events to see whether the tragedy could have been avoided.

“It appears to be a totally unprecedented situation. We’ve never had a situation like this on any turnpike road, ever, in the history of this state. It may be one of those issues that we can’t do much to prevent,” she said.