Body Missing Since Saturday Recovered from Kaskaskia River

The body of a man missing since Saturday afternoon has been located in the Kaskaskia River.

Shelby County Dive Team Commander Austin Pritchard said the body was actually located farther downstream than where crews had been searching. Pritchard said the body was located past the bridge that carries Illinois Route 128 over the river.

Shelby County Coroner Brian Green late Thursday night officially named the victim as 35-year-old Wallace O. Darkow, Jr. of Effingham. Green officially pronounced Darkow's death at 10:40pm Thursday. Green said an autopsy will be conducted Friday at the McLean County Coroner's Office in Bloomington to determine the official cause of death.

Darkow was part of a group of kayakers and tubers headed down the river when they encountered a logjam about 5:15pm Saturday. Darkow was carried under the logjam, about a quarter-mile north and east of the bridge carrying Illinois 128 over the river near Cowden.

Pritchard said the thought is that sometime after efforts began to remove logs and other debris to gain access to the body, it was carried farther downstream. That could have occurred overnight during any of the past few days. Crews had spotted the body in the original search area using an underwater camera on Sunday.

Pritchard said Darkow's body was recovered around 9pm Thursday. Darkow's family was notified. Many of them had been at the site during the recovery efforts. Members of the family contacted us once the body was recovered, asking us to thank all of the emergency service providers who assisted in the recovery effort.

Agencies who have helped during the days of the search include the Shelby County Dive Team, Effingham County Dive Rescue Team, Cowden Fire Protection District, Tri-County Fire Protection District, US Army Corps of Engineers, American Red Cross, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Shumway Fire Protection District, and the Shelby County Sheriff's Department.