Suburban Chicago real estate professional, girlfriend found dead after Wisconsin kayaking trip
2 missing kayakers from Chicagoland area found dead in Wisconsin
Two people from the Chicagoland area died over the weekend in Door County, Wisconsin. Both had been missing since Saturday night.
LAKE BLUFF, Ill. - A 20-year-old suburban Chicago real estate professional remembered by coworkers as "wise beyond his years" is being mourned after he and his girlfriend were found dead following a kayaking trip near Washington Island, Wisconsin.
Missing kayakers found dead in Wisconsin
The backstory:
Recovery crews located the bodies of David Thalman, 20, of Dundee, Illinois, and Francesca Warick, 20, of South Elgin, on Monday after an extensive search that began over the weekend, according to the Door County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office said it assumed command of the incident Sunday after the search transitioned into a recovery operation. Authorities said personnel from multiple agencies continued searching Monday in the area where the pair were last seen kayaking.
Around 10:55 a.m., crews recovered Thalman's body. A short time later, they recovered Warick's body. The sheriff's office extended condolences to both families and thanked dozens of agencies and volunteers who assisted in the search and recovery efforts.
Jane Lee, broker-owner of a RE/MAX office in Lake Bluff, said she hired Thalman shortly after he graduated from high school.
She said most young applicants are still deciding what they want to do with their lives, but Thalman already had a plan.
"He said, 'Jane, anything you can offer me, I want to learn real estate. I want to make it really big in the real estate business,'" Lee recalled.
Initially hired for inside sales, Thalman quickly proved himself by making cold calls, setting appointments and communicating with clients. Within about a year, Lee promoted him to transaction manager, a role that involved coordinating home sales, inspections, appraisals and client communication. Lee said his confidence stood out immediately.
"When people have a sports background, they have a very strong mind. Very hustle," she said, explaining why she decided to hire the former high school football player.
Lee said Thalman made a deliberate decision to skip college and begin building a career instead.
"I said, 'Do you want to go to college?' He said, 'No. My friends go to college. They're not doing well. They're partying all the time. I want to build a career.'"
She believes that decision was already paying off.
"If you see the reviews from the people, he looked like he'd been doing real estate for 20 years already because he knew what he was doing."
Lee said clients consistently praised his professionalism, adding that coworkers trusted him completely.
"You don't see a lot of young people like that anymore today," she said. "He's very focused, always on time. We trust him 100 percent."
Even while away with family on vacation, Lee said Thalman remained committed to his job. She said the two spoke before he left for Washington Island, where his family has a summer cabin. When multiple offers came in on a home over the weekend, Lee texted and called him expecting an immediate response because that was his normal routine.
"If I text him, in a second I got a response," she said.
When several calls went unanswered Saturday afternoon, she initially assumed he had simply lost cell service while hiking. By Sunday morning, she knew something was wrong. Later that morning, Lee said Thalman's mother called the office to say he and Warick had gone missing after kayaking.
"That moment I did worry," Lee said.
Lee said the news Monday devastated her office.
"We all cried," she said. "Everybody was in shock."
She said even clients who had worked with Thalman called the office in tears after learning what happened.
"We told our customers he was gone. People called and cried to us."
Lee believes Thalman had the potential to become one of the area's top real estate agents.
"He's going to make it very big in this job," she said.
According to Lee, Thalman had already mapped out his future. His plan was to spend five years learning every aspect of the business before becoming a full-time realtor on his own.
"One day he said, 'Jane, I'm going to become you one day,'" Lee recalled with a smile.
Instead, Lee said, her office is grieving the loss of someone she described as exceptionally hardworking, ethical and driven.
"We feel a huge loss," she said. "It's very hard to find the right people like this."
What's next:
The sheriff's office said the incident remains under investigation. Authorities have not released additional details about what led to the kayaking tragedy.
Meanwhile, friends, family, coworkers and clients continue remembering Thalman and Warick as two young people whose promising futures were cut short.
The Source: The information in this article was reported by FOX Chicago's Bret Buganski.