Water Recovery Incident - Johnsburg

Battalion Chief’s Office

Non-Emergency Phone: (815) 385-0075

Release Date: March 6, 2022

Battalion Chief Sears

At approximately 6:00 a.m. on March 6, 2022, the McHenry Township Fire Protection District received a call from the Will County Sheriff’s Office with information on two men reported missing by family members.  There were reports that the last known location of the men was near the Oak Park Lounge at 801 West Oak Grove Road in Johnsburg.

Crews responded to the Oak Park Lounge and located a vehicle registered to one of the missing men. Because of the vehicles proximity to the Pistakee Lake, a shoreline search was started. Based on additional information gathered from the scene, a Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) Sonar team response was requested to aid in the open water search.

A Unified Command Post was established at the scene to coordinate the efforts of the multiple agency response that included fire, emergency medical, water rescue and law enforcement agencies.

At approximately 3:00p.m., the two men were unfortunately found deceased in open water near Coon Island. Their bodies were recovered and turned over to the McHenry County Coroner’s office.      

Agencies assisting in the search and recovery included the McHenry Township Fire Protection District, Wonder Lake, Algonquin, Nunda, Crystal Lake, Barrington, Fox Lake, Countryside, Lake Forest, Libertyville, Lincolshire, Buffalo Grove, Gurnee, and Wauconda Fire Departments along with Johnsburg Police and McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.