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Body of central Illinois missing for a week found in lake

Posted April 04, 2017 7:00 am

The Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Divers have found the body of a central Illinois man more than a week after he took a watercraft on Lake Springfield.

Forty-nine-year-old Joseph J. Ayers of Rochester was found Monday. The Sangamon County coroner's office says a preliminary autopsy found Ayers died from drowning due to blunt force injuries to the head and neck. The Springfield Police Department says it's continuing to investigate the incident.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports (http://bit.ly/2oyS11O) Ayers went out on a personal watercraft with another person about 1:20 a.m. March 26. That person returned home, was unable to contact Ayers and called police. The second person has not been identified.

Sangamon County Rescue Squad officials couldn't say specifically where Ayers' body was found. Police haven't said if the watercraft was damaged when found.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com

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