April 25, 2025
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Body recovered at Sterling’s Oppold Marina; no word on whether it might be missing Ogle County man

By Kathleen A. Schultz
Ogle County Coroner Lou Finch stands by an empty gurney as he waits for the body to be brought to the shore at Oppold Marina.

Ogle County Coroner Lou Finch stands by an empty gurney as he waits for the body to be brought to the shore this evening at Oppold Marina in Sterling. Because the body actually was recovered in Lee County, Sheriff John Simonton and Coroner Jesse Partington will lead the investigation. (Earleen Hinton)

A body was removed from the Rock River on the east side of Oppold Marina shortly before 7 p.m. today, Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker and eyewitnesses confirmed.

Lee and Whiteside County deputies were on scene from about 4:30 p.m.; Lee and Ogle County coroners also responded.

The body actually was recovered in Lee County, Booker said, so Coroner Jesse Partington and that sheriff’s department will be taking the lead in the investigation.

Sterling Fire Department divers along with other law enforcement officers bring the body to the shoreline. (Earleen Hinton Shaw Media)

No further information was available tonight. Sheriff John Simonton did not immediately respond to requests for comment; Partington said the investigation is pending and he will know more at the beginning of the week.

Two Ogle County men are missing and presumed to be in the Rock River: Brandon Cuddy’s badly damaged car was found on a riverbank in rural Byron, the 27-year-old went missing Dec. 26; and Kent “Bud” Dearborn Jr., 33, of Polo, has been missing more than a year after his fishing boat capsized near the Oregon dam on Nov. 20, 2019.

Law enforcement officials get ready to move the body from the Sterling Fire Department's boat to a gurney. (Earleen Hinton Shaw Media)

A Sterling Fire Department boat leaves the Oppold slips to attend to the body found in the Rock River on the east side of the marina. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

Three Whiteside County sheriff squads, a Lee County squad car, and an unmarked squad park across from the Oppold Marina slips. Several more squad cars from both departments also were on scene. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

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Kathleen Schultz

Kathleen A. Schultz

Kathleen Schultz is a Sterling native with 40 years of reporting and editing experience in Arizona, California, Montana and Illinois.