Milan Police say they safely rescued a man out of the Rock River after he spent hours in the Rock River.
Police were called to the U.S. Route 67 Bridges on the border of Rock Island and Milan at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, November 12th, 2013. A passing motorist reporting hearing a man yelling for help near Sear's Dam.
Crews found a 50-year-old Rock Island man standing on a pier support pylon, and they pulled the man out of the river around 6:30 a.m. The water is shallow at that location. The man was seen shaking as crews pulled him out.
Initial reports indicated the man had been in the river for about three hours. Police later said the man was on the bridge support pylon and in the water for about six hours.
The man reportedly told police he was just "hanging out there" when he fell into the river. Milan Police Chief Shawn Johnson later said the man was in the water after a failed suicide attempt.
He was being treated at a local hospital.