Additional information on a story we first told you about Tuesday, a 58-year-old Anna man whose vehicle entered Rend Lake at a boat ramp Monday evening, sparking a significant emergency response near Illinois 154 has died.
Emergency dispatchers received a 911 call at 5:41 p.m. from a fisherman who discovered the vehicle submerged at the Rend Lake Conservancy District boat ramp near Larry Foster Parkway. Multiple agencies responded, including the Benton Fire Department Dive Team, Franklin County Office of Emergency Management, MABAS Division 68/45, and AMR Ambulance.
Franklin County Sheriff Kyle Bacon reported that divers from the Benton Fire Department removed the man from the vehicle shortly after arriving. Lifesaving measures were initiated at the scene before the man was transported to Franklin Hospital and later airlifted to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Indiana, where he was pronounced dead early Tuesday morning.
Investigators learned that the man had been at the boat ramp for several hours prior to the incident. Witnesses saw him throughout the day, and detectives are working to establish a clear timeline. The vehicle was above water when a fisherman arrived earlier, but was submerged when he returned several hours later, suggesting a three-hour window in which the incident occurred.
Authorities have not determined whether the entry into the lake was accidental or intentional. “We may never know the answer to that,” Sheriff Bacon stated, emphasizing the investigation’s open approach.
Divers used sonar equipment to confirm no additional victims were in the vehicle or surrounding water. Sheriff Bacon praised the quick and coordinated emergency response, noting that cold water can sometimes offer rare chances of revival.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is collaborating with the Vanderburgh County Medical Examiner’s Office in Indiana for toxicology testing and a possible autopsy. The investigation remains ongoing.