A fishing trip in a canoe turned tragic Sunday afternoon when the boat overturned and one of the two occupants drowned in a remote pond in rural Belle Rive. Jefferson County Fire Protection District officials say the other man had gotten to shore before their arrival and did not require treatment.
Both of the men are from the Opdyke-Belle Rive area but their names have not been released. Jefferson County Coroner Roger Hayse does not expect to release the identity of the victim until Tuesday afternoon.
Jefferson Fire District Firemen were told by the survivor that the victim had caught a fish and when he reached to grab it a dog also lunged in the same direction in the boat causing it to capsize.
The fire department called multiple water rescue resources to the pond that was very secluded and was “brushed in” and only accessible by foot. Two divers from the Benton Fire Department initially went into the water to attempt to locate the missing man.
Divers operated for approximately 45 minutes until boats arrived and the rescue was turned into a recovery.
A total of three boats were deployed with sonar and additional divers entered the water to search. After the Illinois Department of Natural Resources remote-controlled sonar scanner was able to target the location of the man, divers re-entered the water and confirmed the missing individual was located.
Dive crews were able to remove him from the water where he was pronounced dead.
