Divers looking for body of snowmobiler in Fox near Algonquin

Divers Monday afternoon searched the icy Fox River near Algonquin for a 26-year-old man who they believe plunged into the river while returning from a bar Sunday night on his snowmobile.

But when night fell without any sign of his body, crews called off the search until daybreak.

"The gentleman has been gone for 24 hours," said Julie Didier, public information officer for the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills fire protection district. "At this point, it's going to be a recovery."

The man, identified by longtime friends as Gabe Juirgui, and a friend both left a bar about 7 p.m. Sunday on their snowmobiles. During their ride home, the two split up.

The friend told authorities Monday afternoon that he went Monday to the home where Juirgui lives with his parents and siblings, and Juirgui hadn't shown up. He then alerted police around 2:45 p.m.

Authorities found a hole in the ice where there is open water. They found a snowmobile submerged in the water, which is 8 to 10 feet deep at that point, 25 feet from shore.

Dennis Phillips, who grew up with Juirgui and still lives in the same neighborhood with the Juirgui family, said his friend was a bricklayer who graduated from Jacobs High School in 2000.

"He's a hardworking guy, a great guy. He'd give you the shirt off his back if he had to," Phillips said.

Juirgui lived with his mom and dad, little brother and sister, Phillips said. He had two young children and was planning to be married soon.

Ricky Thinnes, who grew up with Juirgui and Phillips, was equally effusive. "He'd go broke, give you every penny he had," he said. "He was a genuine man."

Juirgui's family, he said, is "a total mess."

The accident occurred near the Haegar's Bend subdivision, near Haeger's Bend Road and First Street in an unincorporated area on the edge of Algonquin where the Juirguis live.

Didier said a helmet, which was confirmed as belonging to the man they are searching for, was found floating in the water near the hole in the ice. And the family identified a pair of gloves found adjacent to the river as his.

Divers and other emergency crews from the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills, Fox River Grove, Cary, Nunda Rural, Woodstock, Pingree Grove, Hampshire and Huntley departments responded.

• Daily Herald staff writer Kerry Lester contributed to this report.