By Courtney Gousman
St. Louis (KSDK) - Fish flopping around in a dry pond of the Jewel Box in Forest Park?
Certainly not what you'd expect to see on your way to a wedding, but it happened, and NewsChannel 5 discovered there was a public outcry that followed.
If you've ever been to the Jewel Box, you know there are three ponds that sit right out front. Those ponds are typically stocked with fish.
Last weekend, they were drained and a number of fish were left in the dry pond.
Alecia Hoyt is a wedding photographer. Saturday, she was at the Jewel Box when a disturbing scene was brought to her attention. Hoyt says the water had been drained from these ponds out front, but several fish had been left behind.
"As guests were coming in, they noticed there were fish that were flopping. Suffocating because they had no water," said Hoyt.
So Hoyt went into action, with her assistant documenting her actions with pictures.
"I got into the muck and moved several fish from where there was no water, to a place where there was just a little bit of water left," said Hoyt.
Hoyt finished her wedding, and returned to the Jewel Box later that night with her boyfriend and a cooler full of water.
"We pulled maybe 20 little minnows, mosquito catchers, and then 11 gold fish," said Hoyt.
Three of those fish died. Hoyt called fellow photographer, Kelly Manno, who took to Facebook and her blog to tell people what had happened.
"Within an hour of posting it, the thing just went viral. I can't keep up with the phone calls and the emails I've gotten about it," said Manno.
City officials tell NewsChannel 5, these three ponds had been drained earlier in the day on Saturday, and volunteers from the St. Louis Water Gardening Society, the group that maintains the pond, were responsible for removing the fish.
"That wasn't our intention to let those fish die. We certainly thought we had caught them all," said Kay Miskell, Jewel Box Coordinator with the St. Louis Water Gardening Society.
Volunteers now say in the future they will make sure all fish are removed once the water is drained.
In the meantime Hoyt has picked up some new pets, all named after Cardinals pitchers.
"We have Carp, we have Wayne-O, we have Gibby and Dizzy!" said Hoyt.
NewsChannel 5 also talked to St. Louis' Park's Department Commissioner who says this is not the first time this has happened. Dan Skillman says about five years ago, a number of fish were left behind by volunteers after the pond was drained.
Skillman says in the future, those ponds will not be stocked with fish.
KSDK