Hunter’s body recovered from metro-east pond
The body of a 23-year-old man was recovered from a St. Clair County pond Tuesday after he had fallen through ice while waterfowl hunting on Monday.
Searchers completed the recovery at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons.
The man’s name has not been released.
Simmons said an Illinois Conservation Police officer was expected to release more information Tuesday night.
Crews used sonar to search the pond, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which oversees the conservation police department.
The man was with about five other people at the time he fell through the ice.
Dive teams on Tuesday had resumed a search for the man, who fell through the ice on a pond southwest of New Baden on Monday afternoon.
First responders had ended their search effort Monday night because of the frigid conditions, the New Baden Fire Department announced in a news release.
Illinois Conservation Police officers were called to St. Clair County to investigate the apparent drowning of a 23-year-old waterfowl hunter who “broke through the ice on a lake near New Baden and did not resurface,” the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said in a statement earlier Tuesday.
The man was trying to rescue a dog at the time he fell through the ice, according to Simmons. The dog was able to make it to shore safely.
“After several hours of search operations, due to extreme cold temperatures, the incident was transitioned from a rescue to a recovery,” the New Baden news release said. “Operations were suspended at approximately 8:40 p.m.”
The pond is in St. Clair County near Interstate 64. It is off Renth Road near the intersection of Renth Road and Clinton County Line Road, Simmons said.
New Baden firefighters first received a call for help at about 3:15 p.m. Monday about a man who had fallen through the ice on a pond. They immediately requested assistance from the Swansea Fire Department dive team.
Over a dozen other agencies subsequently responded to assist in the search.
This story was originally published January 27, 2026 at 5:52 PM.