Safe Outcome for Three Local Residents on Float Trip on Kaskaskia

Three local residents were unharmed after getting lost for several hours while on a float trip down the Kaskaskia River.

The incident began just before noon on Saturday and involved 18-year-old Dillon Saylers, 22-year-old Cody Hissong and 20-year-old Roy McAllister, all of Effingham. 

Shelby County Sheriff's Department reports the three were floating until after dark on rafts down the river when Saylers became separated from the other two. Saylers phoned 911 and reached the Shelby County Sheriff's Office to report the situation. At about the same time, Hissong phoned 911 and was connected with the Coles County Sheriff's Office and reported the same situation.

Saylers met authorities at the Moore Bridge, but Hissong and McAllister were not located for several more hours. The Shelby County Sheriff's Department, the Shelby County Dive Rescue Team, Cowden Fire Department, and Illinois State Police Air Operations all became involved in a search that included the State Police aircraft utilizing its night vision equipment. That's how authorities spotted the rafts being used by Hissong and McAllister in an area north of the original search area. The Dive Rescue Team recovered the rafts and then followed a path from the river into a beanfield where they located Hissong and McAllister about 6:30am Sunday.

Shelby County authorities say the area is very remote, located east of Illinois 128 between Cowden and Shelbyville.