Lawrence Pollard

Lawrence Pollard, 51, Drowns in River

A duck hunting trip ended in tragedy Saturday for the family of Lawrence Pollard, 51, of Shelby, a construction worker.

Pollard and his son Vernon, 27, were paddling home down the Kankakee River in their duck boat Saturday afternoon when the boat suddenly capsized.

The younger man struggled to shore.

Vernon Pollard told Lake County Deputies William Nolan and Dan Meanovich his father went under the water, struggled up to the surface, and then went under again.

The two deputies, State Trooper Eugene Turnpaugh of Morocco, and friends and neighbors started dragging the treacherous river for Pollard's body Saturday evening, and the search continues while his grief stricken family and friends wait. Shelby's volunteer firemen, assisted by state men and game wardens, have a force of 20 boats on the river today. The body is expected to rise to the surface within the next 24 hours.

Find Body of Lawrence Pollard, 51, In Kankakee River

Finding of the body Sunday of Lawrence Pollard, 51, of Shelby, who drowned last Dec.4 in the Kankakee river in a duck hunting accident, ended months of search and anxiety.

For days following the accident, members of the Shelby Fire Department, aided by family friends and state officials, dragged the treacherous river, swelled beyond the normal level by late fall rains.

Hunting with his son, Pollard was drowned when their boat upset near Shelby, 8 miles upstream from the place where his body was discovered Sunday noon, a mile and a half west of U.S. 41, by a fisherman, Pollard was identified by papers in his billfold.