Authorities give family of once-missing St. Charles man time
Editor's note: Spelling of Dane Hagerty's name corrected on Sept. 27.
Investigators have interviewed Dane Hagerty, the St. Charles man who went missing Friday after a business trip and was found Tuesday outside a fire station, but will give his family some time before trying to verify his story with them, authorities said.
"We're not going to take his statements at face value. We want to make sure what he said happened really did occur," said Kane County Sheriff's Lt. Pat Gengler, declining to elaborate on what Hagerty told authorities.
"We want answers, but we don't necessarily need them today," Gengler added. "This family's been through a lot. We'll give them time. It's been a traumatic situation the past couple of days. I can't imagine the emotional roller coaster that family has been on."
A sheriff's deputy saw Hagerty, 43, around 1 a.m. Tuesday near a fire station on McDonald Road in South Elgin. He was taken to Presence St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin for treatment for injuries that were not life-threatening.
Hagerty's wife reported him missing Friday after he failed to return home from a business trip. Authorities found his car at Otter Creek Bend Wetland Park on Crane Road with a note that police took to mean he intended to harm himself, Gengler said.
A police dog tracked Hagerty's scent to a pond, where two pools of blood were found. Authorities said Hagerty, who Gengler said used a pocket knife to cut his wrists, may have hidden in a gazebo outside the search area.
The search for Hagerty into a forest preserve spanned the weekend and involved more than 75 certified search-and-rescue volunteers, the sheriff's office and Homeland Security.
Gengler said the sheriff's office isn't necessarily going to seek restitution for the resources used in the search. He noted Hagerty was not accused of a crime.
"The majority of the people out there were volunteers," Gengler said. "We're not tabulating the cost of it right now."
Tim Blackmore, spokesman for Presence St. Joseph, said Hagerty was later transferred to another facility but could not specify where nor when.