The Fulton County Coroner confirmed on Sunday, July 12th, that a man drowned after falling off a boat while fishing in Fulton County, Illinois. Coroner Steve Hines revealed the name of the victim as Robert L. Thompson, 66.
The accident report disclosed that the victim and his friend, Michael Polson, 68, were fishing at Banner Marsh State Fish and Wildlife Area on Sunday morning. The two were approximately half a mile southeast of Shovel Lake boat ramp when Thompson fell off the port side from the bow and struggled to swim.
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According to the Illinois Conservation Police Sergeant Scott Avery, Polson said he attempted to guide the boat close to the victim and used a pole to help him out of the water. The man could not reach the pole and went underwater.
Thompson’s friend jumped into the water and brought him out, but he was already unresponsive. The man swam with the victim to the bow of the boat and used the trolling motor to guide the two of them back to shore. ICP said that the vessel’s propeller caught Polson’s shirt, and he had to cut himself free.
The men arrived at the shore at about 9:44 a.m., and the victim’s friend called 911. By the time first responders arrived at the scene, Thompson had passed away, and they pronounced him dead. Hines said there would be an autopsy to confirm the man’s primary cause of death.
The coroner conveyed the victim’s body to Oaks-Hines Funeral Home in Canton and notified his next-of-kin in East Peoria. There is no additional information at this time.
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