Family identifies missing kayaker found in Fox River

Body of kayaker recovered from Fox River

The body of a missing kayaker has been recovered.

ST. CHARLES, Ill. - A body was found Thursday morning during the search for a kayaker who fell into the Fox River Tuesday night while fishing. 

What we know:

The St. Charles Fire Department said the body was found around 6 a.m. after a civilian called 911 after seeing a body in the river near the Great Western Trail Bridge.

Officials confirmed the body was identified as the missing kayaker.

"I want to thank the significant number of fire departments, our police and Emergency Management Agency, the Conservation Police, the Kane County Sheriff’s office, the Kane County Office of Emergency Management, and volunteer groups for their ongoing support during this sustained search and recovery effort," said St. Charles Fire Chief Jeremy Mauthe. "Their expertise, specialized equipment, and dedication were vital to this operation."

The man is being identified by family as Taylor Russell, who said he was fatally struck by a boat on his birthday. He leaves behind his wife, Janeth, and three stepchildren, who have special needs. The family set up a GoFundMe campaign as well.

The backstory:

The St. Charles Fire Department responded to the river at 9:36 p.m. Tuesday after a report that one person was in the water.

"There were two kayakers who were in the water that were apparently fishing and there was also a boat that was involved. From the preliminary interviews that we did, it sounds like one of the kayakers tipped and fell out of his boat and at that point, he wasn't seen again," St. Charles Fire Chief Jeremy Mauthe said.

Nearly 30 suburban fire departments joined the search effort, deploying six different boats, divers, rafts, sonar equipment and drones to scan the area south of the riverbend near Ferson Creek Park. Crews continued searching through the night, using high-powered lights until about 5 a.m., though darkness made conditions difficult.

The video below came from a previous FOX 32 report.

Search for missing fisherman resumes on Fox River

Emergency crews resumed their search Wednesday morning for a missing fisherman who fell into the Fox River after a kayak capsized overnight, according to local officials.

Search operations resumed around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday morning with fire officials saying the efforts have now transitioned from a rescue to a recovery.

Officials said the kayak that tipped over has been recovered and that they have made contact with the operator of the boat.

Mauthe said the boat's role in the kayak tipping over is under investigation.

"The Fox River is a very dark and murky river," Mauthe said. "It's got a lot of different objects in there, a few of the things that we had found last night that we thought were potentially a person, tires and things of that sort. It's not a clean, easy river to search."