Family, friends pay tribute to Polo man whose body has not been found after 2019 fatal boating accident

OREGON – A bitter, cold wind whipped across the Rock River below the Oregon dam on Wednesday, Nov. 20, extinguishing Penny Lee’s attempts to light votive candles in memory of her nephew, Kent “Bud” Dearborn Jr.

After numerous attempts, Lee and Bud’s cousins, Jayson and Brooklynn Lindsey, accomplished their mission and finally launched the floating lanterns into the Rock River.

But the wind and the rain pelted the paper structures, and soon the waves won, dousing the candles and leaving their paper vessels barely afloat, caught in a whirlpool back to the dam.

The day’s weather mirrored that fateful day five years ago on Nov. 20, 2019, when Dearborn, 33, of Polo, and his fishing buddy James Swift, 64, of Forreston, climbed into a boat to fish for walleye below the Oregon dam.

Tragedy struck when their boat capsized and they were thrown into the river. The search to find the men began when a witness saw an overturned boat in the boil below the dam in the west channel of the river and notified authorities.

Swift’s body was found Jan. 3, 2020, 17 miles from Oregon, near the Dixon dam. Dearborn’s body has not been recovered despite dozens of river searches by civilians and law enforcement.

On Wednesday, family and friends of Bud gathered again by the dam to remember the fatal boating accident that took their loved one.

“It’s been five years, but it still seems like yesterday,” said Lee, of Oregon, Dearborn’s aunt. “We always hoped someone would find something, but nothing.”

As a steady drizzle of cold rain fell and darkness enveloped the west bank of the river, Lee tethered balloons to a bench dedicated in Bud’s memory and then lined up three of Bud’s friends along with his cousins for a photo overlooking the area where the boat was last seen.

Some family members and other friends came to the site earlier in the day to pay their respects while others remembered Bud from the comfort of a nearby bar.

The bench was purchased through donations that the family received from fundraisers held after the accident. The Oregon Park District, owner of Oregon Park East, poured the base and set up the bench for the family in September 2022.

The plaque on the bench says: “In loving memory of ‘Bud’ Kent Asher Dearborn Jr., 1/6/1986-11/20/2019.″ It also includes images of two people fishing from a boat and a morel mushroom – two of Bud’s favorite things.

The two men were fishing for walleye when the accident occurred on a cold and windy day with river levels high because of recent rain. Some river watchers speculate that Bud’s body, laden with heavy clothing, became trapped in the “boil” at the base of the dam.

The Ogle County Sheriff’s Office launched a search with a boat and sonar equipment and assistance from Christian Aid Ministries Search and Rescue out of Bureau County.

But another 6 inches of rain a day after the accident further increased the river’s current, hindering deployment of divers and a remotely operated robot.

Searches have continued for Dearborn, but nothing has been found.

Ogle County Sheriff Brian Van Vickle said the case remains open.