Several search and rescue and dive teams were seen at Ferson Creek Park in St. Charles Wednesday morning searching for a missing kayaker.
It was around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when the St. Charles Fire Department said they got a call about a person in the Fox River near Ferson Creek.
Investigators believe two people were on kayaks fishing at night when one kayaker fell into the water.
Officials believe another boat was also involved in the incident, but it's not clear how.
St. Charles authorities give update on missing kayaker
Daeshawn Eubanks told ABC7 that he and his best friend, who he says is the missing man, often kayaked together here on the Fox River until tragedy struck Tuesday night. That's when he says another boat was speeding without its lights on and apparently knocked his friend into water, and he hasn't been seen since.
"Devastating," Eubanks said. "That was my best friend of over 10 years."
Returning to Fox River with a heavy heart and lack of closure, Eubanks said his best friend remains missing after he fell into the water and never resurfaced.
"Once we were getting ready to pack up, a boat came at a high rate of speed around the corner with no lights on and ended up knocking him out his kayak," Eubanks said. "We heard him yelling out, and then he went under, and we didn't hear him anymore."
Since then, crews have been searching the area near Ferson Creek Park in hopes to recover the missing kayaker, a man who Greg Bartosik says was his manager at nearby Costco and a father to a young boy.
"That little boy is going, 'Where is daddy?'" Bartosik said. "How do you explain that to a little kid that daddy's not coming home?"
Dive teams from dozens of agencies were called to respond; they searched the water for seven hours Tuesday night. They resumed their search as a recovery mission Wednesday morning with boats, sonar and K9s, but have yet to find the missing kayaker.
"What I can tell you is there were two kayakers who were in the water apparently fishing, and there was also a boat that was also involved," said Jeremy Mauthe, with the St. Charles Fire Department. "From preliminary interviews that we did, it sounds like one of the kayakers tipped and fell out of his boat, and at that point he wasn't seen again. So, we're mapping out the area and expanding that area that we initially had so we make sure that any potential location where the individual could be is mapped out. And from there, our divers are going to search each one of those individual spots."
Rescue crews said the second kayaker was able to paddle to safety. They were in single-person kayaks.
Officials also said it appears the missing kayaker was not wearing a life jacket at the time of the incident.
Eubanks claims he and his friend were wearing life vests despite investigators saying the missing kayaker did not have on one.
Fire officials said they were also able to get in contact with the operator of the boat, and that is part of their investigation.
"The assumption is that either a wake, or potentially the boat. But the boat was involved. We don't know exactly what happened," Mauthe said.
"You have to do better," Eubanks said. "That's completely unsafe, dangerous for anyone in the water."
Crews said one of the challenges with the Fox River is that the water is dark and murky and varies in depth, making for a difficult search. There has also been a soaking rain Wednesday.
Officials also say the water was calm, and there was virtually no current whatsoever at the time of the incident.
The search Wednesday ended about 4:30 p.m. Search operations will resume at 8 a.m. Thursday, with the addition of a specialized underwater rover to aid in the search.
Search crews said they will continue to be out as long as they need to.
The Department of Natural Resources is also helping in the search.