Body Has Not Surfaced From Des Plaines River

CHANNAHON, IL - Channahon Fire Chief John Petrakis urged recreational boaters to stay off the Des Plaines River near the Channahon and Wilmington areas as fire personnel continue to search the river trying to recover the body of a 40-year-old man who disappeared after 6 p.m. on Sunday. The man, described as a white male, approximately 40 years of age and 200 pounds, was on a boat Sunday when he ended up in the river.

'We're working off reports that (the man) jumped off the recreational watercraft and that he did not resurface," Petrakis said.

"If you don't need to be at the marina or on the water, please avoid it. Please avoid the Des Plaines River because of the search efforts," the chief told Patch Monday afternoon at the scene.

Petrakis said it's his understanding that the man, who lives in the immediate area, was on the boat with another man and two women.

"We are doing everything we can to assist the family and bring closure to the situation," the chief explained.

"We have several chaplains working with the family, walking with them and providing that emotional and spiritual support."

Petrakis told Patch that some of the areas being searched are about 25 feet deep.

"We have another rotation of responders coming in just before 5 o'clock. We'll get them briefed and mobilized and back on the water and continue to search into the night hours.

"We're fortunate that we're not dealing with any past days of heavy rain where the river might rise and swell. The river seems to be pretty calm. We're searching areas as deep as 25 feet right now and it ranges to some of the shallower edges which might just be a few inches."

Patch asked the chief to explain how the emergency personnel were notified.

"There was viable witness accounts that this individual had jumped off the boat and into the surface of the water and that's what provoked us to initiate the response because we had intelligence that someone was still in the water and not surfaced.

"There's four, five boats on the water with approximately three to four people in each of those boats. We also have some other resources that are not within the boats ... that are running the drones, we also have a search and rescue dog that has joined one of the search teams on the boats as well as the sector scan that is being utilized to image anything in the subsurface of the water."

Story posted on Monday morning:

The Channahon Fire Protection District is resuming searches this morning for a man who jumped off a recreational boat into the Des Plaines River and never resurfaced from the water, the fire department announced. Firefighters were called to the scene on Sunday night shortly before 7 p.m. "A search was initiated in the area of the Des Plaines River where it merges with the Kankakee River.

"The missing swimmer was described as a white male, approximately 40 years of age, 200 pounds, wearing a blue T-shirt and gray shorts," the press release noted.

The effort to find the man's body on Sunday night was unsuccessful and the search turned into a recovery effort once it got dark. "All personnel cleared the scene at midnight with searches having negative result."

Original story published Sunday night is below:

Several firefighters from the Channahon and Wilmington area responded to a water rescue emergency call on Sunday night. Northern Illinois Fire Ground photos indicated the divers were sent from the 27425 Will Road, Harbor Side Marina.

One of the areas where the divers were positioned was west of the Big Basin, which is located underneath the Interstate 55 bridge that crosses the Des Plaines River. However, as the night went on, sources told Patch that the incident of the apparent drowning was likely closer to the Big Fish Grille.

Image via John Ferak/Editor Joliet Patch and Channanon/Minooka Patch