A Colona, Illinois man was missing hours after the boat he and four others were on became stranded in the Mississippi River.
Initial reports indicated five people were aboard a boat as it began to sink near Lock & Dam 14, at Hampton, Illinois, at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 6, 2014. The boat and the passengers reportedly went through the rollers at the dam.
Three of the passengers were pulled from the water about three-quarters of a mile downstream near the Iowa shoreline, and a fourth person was pulled from the river on the Illinois side. All four rescued passengers were taken by ambulance to area hospitals. By 4:30 p.m., officials said only one of those people remained hospitalized for observation.
The wife, son and two friends of 44-year-old Charles Slocum, of Colona, were among those rescued. Mr. Slocum was still missing. Rescuers said all five boaters wore life jackets at the time of the incident. They found a life jacket in the river in the search area, but the search continued for Mr. Slocum.
Pieces of the boat and debris that was aboard were recovered for hours as rescuers continued to search for Mr. Slocum. The search included people on foot along the shore, people in boats on the water and a MedForce helicopter helped from the air.
By 3 p.m., officials said their work went from rescue to recovery.
