Lake Ozarks drowning victim identified as former elected official

Allan “Al” Mueller, a longtime Jefferson City resident and local elected official, drowned Tuesday in the Lake of the Ozarks.

Mueller served in the Missouri House of Representatives as a Democrat from 1970 to 1974, representing the 50th and 62nd districts. He served in the Senate in 1977 and 1978, representing the 6th District. He ran for state office again in 1982 and 2008, but lost.

He served as Cole County Treasurer from January 1, 1997 to December 1. 31, 2008.

The News Tribune reported Wednesday that Allan G. Mueller, 81, of Jefferson City, had died, but it was unclear at the time whether the deceased was in fact the former official. Multiple sources – as well as property records – have since confirmed the identity of the deceased.

Mueller was reported missing to the Camden County Sheriff's Department after he was last seen at 5 p.m. Monday at his dock in the Spring Cove area of ​​Lake of the Ozarks. It's unclear when or how he entered the water, but he was found at 12:51 a.m. Tuesday, face down, wearing a flotation device.

He was pronounced dead at 2:45 a.m.

A neighbor of Mueller's, as well as several Cole County officials and members of the Cole County Fire Protection District have said – to the best of their knowledge – that the deceased Mueller was the same man who served in local and state government .

In addition to his duties as treasurer and legislator, Mueller served on the Missouri Public Service Commission from 1983 to 1996 (as chairman from 1993 to 1996). According to one of Mueller's neighbors on Elmerine Avenue, he was also active in the Marine Corps League.

The neighbor added that Mueller knew people all over Jefferson City and Missouri. He appeared on a Sunday morning radio show with former Cole County Presiding Commissioner Marc Ellinger for years, frequented Ecco Salon and was friends with many community members.

A Cole County employee said Mueller was a Eugene administrator.

Mueller was born on December 16, 1942. According to mcbridealumni.com, Mueller went to elementary school in St. Englebert Parish in St. Louis. He graduated from McBride High School in St. Louis in 1960.

He then served in the United States Marine Corps – where he rose to the rank of captain – from October 1965 to March 1969. He married Carol A. Coleman on November 10, 1973, and they had four children: Lucas , Abbie, Ryan and Mark – and several grandchildren.

Mueller retired after his time in government, but remained active. In retirement, Mueller spent time with friends and family, boating and hunting on Lake of the Ozarks, and even attended the Burning Man festival in Black Rock City in 2011.

Courtesy/Al Mueller Facebook Page: This photo shows Al Mueller during his time in the United States Marine Corps.

Courtesy/Al Mueller Facebook Page: This photo shows Al Mueller at his Lake of the Ozarks residence in 2015.

Courtesy/Al Mueller Facebook Page: Al Mueller's most recent photo of himself, taken in 2019, shows him displaying a deer head after a bowhunting trip at Lake of the Ozarks.