Body recovered from Des Plaines River

A body recovered from the Des Plaines River Tuesday is believed to be that of a Prospect Heights man who fell into the river on June 20, officials said.

At 11:28 a.m. Tuesday Cook County Forest Preserve police found the body of the not-yet-identified white male while doing a visual search of the river by boat, spokesman Steven Mayberry said. The body was found caught in a log jam one-half mile south of Dam #1, near the Massasaqga Picnic area at River Road and Milwaukee Avenue in Prospect Heights. The body had not been visible until the river's waters began to recede, Mayberry said.

Forest preserve police have been searching the shoreline regularly by foot, boat and ATV since the disappearance of Gavino Alvarez-Diego, who was born in 1974, when it was reported by several witnesses that he fell into the river while attending a picnic at a nearby forest preserve grove on June 20, Mayberry said. Divers and fire officials from dozens of local fire departments searched the water for hours after the man's disappearance.

Cook County Medical Examiner's Office officials were attempting to identify the body and determine the cause of death Tuesday.