Coast Guard search in Marseilles appears to have been for a false alarm

The overturned raft in the Illinois River that set off a Coast Guard search turned out to be a large piece of styrofoam. That’s according to Conservation Police Sgt. Phil Wire.

Wire says at around 11:30 Monday night, a man called 9-1-1 saying he heard someone say “help” two different times and saw what looked to be a raft floating in the river at Marseilles. The object turned out to be styrofoam and Wire says there were no marks showing someone was clinging to the object once crews pulled it out of the water.

The Coast Guard used a helicopter for an 18 mile search of the river and have yet to find a raft or a person in the water. No one has been reported missing either.

Wire says the 9-1-1 caller could’ve heard someone yelling help but it could’ve been shouted from somewhere other than the river and just echoed off the Marseilles Dam.