A central Illinois fire chief says the search for a missing kayaker has turned into a recovery effort. Congerville Fire Chief Kevin Wiegand says the hunt for 24-year-old Abel Martinez is no longer a search-and-rescue effort.
Even though another kayaker has told authorities that he saw Martinez on shore after his boat capsized. Wiegand says that the search is focusing on the Mackinaw River near Congerville. Martinez was from the Congerville area.
Wiegand says that since the search began Sunday evening, ground teams have covered 330 acres, sonar-equipped boat teams and divers have searched 5 miles upstream and downstream from where Martinez was last seen, and a helicopter with two thermal-imaging cameras has checked 18 miles of river.
