St. Charles man and dog rescued from Fox River in Batavia Wednesday

A St. Charles man and his dog are safe after members of the Batavia Police Department, Batavia Fire Department and Kane County Sheriff’s Office rescued them from the Fox River just after midnight Wednesday morning.

Batavia Police responded to the Fox River dam at 12:16 a.m. on Wednesday, July 24 following a report of someone in the river in the 500 block of N. River Street.

Upon arrival, officers found the 36-year-old St. Charles man hugging a concrete wall and holding his dog on the east bank of the Fox River just south of the dam, according to a news release from the Batavia Police Department.

According to the release, the dog had entered the river, and the man jumped in to rescue it. The man was in chest-deep waters with strong currents and unable to pull himself from the river.

The man was with a friend who called 911, according to the release.

Members of the Batavia Fire Department, the Batavia Police Department and the Kane County Sheriff’s Office safely pulled both the man and his dog from the river using ropes to lift them over the concrete wall that trapped them in the water. Both the man and his dog were uninjured and were released on scene after refusing medical attention, according to the release.

Public information officer Sergeant Michelle Langston said that according to the report, the dog was pulled from the water first, followed by the man, and both were out of the water by 12:31 a.m.