The body of Malik A. Williams, the Galesburg man who jumped into the Mississippi River in Moline to save his young son who fell in, has been recovered.
Moline Police Detective Scott Williams said the body was found around 10 a.m. Friday by a Rock Island Arsenal Fire Department rescue boat “in the area from which he was last seen.”
The Rock Island County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene to identified the body.
Police were called about 8:32 p.m. Tuesday to Ben Butterworth Parkway in the 5400 block of River Drive for a report of people who had fallen into the river.
They discovered that Williams, 25, and his 6-year-old son had been fishing when the boy fell into the water. Williams, in an attempt to save the boy, went into the water and fell under the surface, according to police.
An “uninvolved party,” Van Thang, who was driving near the scene, heard screams from the riverbank and got out of his car and into the water, according to police.
Thang was able to bring the boy to shore and handed him over to a group gathered there, according to police.
Moline Police, Moline Fire, East Moline Police and the Rock Island Arsenal all had crews assisting Tuesday night. Boats from Moline, Rock Island Arsenal and Bettendorf searched all day Wednesday and suspended the search around 4:30 p.m.
