Missing boater’s body recovered from Kinkaid Lake

JACKSON COUNTY, Ill. (KFVS) - A missing boater’s body was recovered from Kinkaid Lake hours after he went fishing alone.

Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a request for a welfare check on the lake at 5:05 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16.

They said Benjamin A. Sigman, 36, of Freeburg, Ill., went fishing alone early Wednesday morning, failed to return home and was not answering phone calls.

When deputies arrived at the Paul Ice boat launch in rural Murphysboro, they found Sigman’s truck and boat trailer parked on the boat launch. His boat was not with the trailer.

The sheriff’s office’s boat and rescue team, along with the Murphysboro Fire Department and Benton Fire Department were called to the scene.

At around 6:23 p.m., the boat team found Sigman’s boat unoccupied.

By 11:47 p.m., Sigman’s body was recovered from the water. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Jackson County Coroner’s Office.

The investigation is ongoing by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Foul play is not suspected.

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