Coroner IDs hunter whose body was found in frozen metro-east pond
A 23-year-old Clinton County man has been identified as the hunter who died from an apparent drowning after falling through the ice on a pond near New Baden on Monday, the St. Clair County coroner said Tuesday night.
Luke R. Kitterman, of the 100 block of South Mill Street in New Memphis, which is south of New Baden, was pronounced dead at the pond on Tuesday afternoon, according to Coroner Calvin Dye Sr.
Kitterman fell through the ice while waterfowl hunting with about five others on Monday afternoon, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Crews searched for him until late Monday night and resumed the search Tuesday morning as multiple agencies responded to the scene.
The pond is southwest of New Baden near Interstate 64 in St. Clair County. It is located off Renth Road near the intersection with Clinton County Line Road.
First responders suspended their search Monday night due to frigid conditions, the New Baden Fire Department said 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 Tuesday.
The hunter was attempting to rescue a dog when he fell through the ice, according to St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons. The dog survived the incident. New Baden firefighters received a call for help about 3:15 p.m. Monday regarding a man who had fallen through the ice on a pond and immediately requested assistance from the Swansea Fire Department dive team.
More than a dozen other agencies also responded to assist in the search.
