Tragedy In The Dells: 75-Year-Old Dead, 20-Year-Old Missing For Days After Boat Capsizes

WISCONSIN DELLS, WI — One Chicago man has been missing for days and another is dead after their boat capsized last week in the Wisconsin Dells, according to police.

Fast and volatile waters have hampered the search for 20-year-old Francesco L. Di Filippo in the wake of the incident, which occurred around 4:30 p.m. Thursday south of the Kilbourn Dam on the Wisconsin River, police said.

One person in the boat swam safely to shore but Di Filippo and 75-year-old Luis F. Di Filippo disappeared under the water, according to police.

Divers were unable to search for the pair in the immediate aftermath due to high flow from the dam and fast-moving currents, but they found the elder of the two relatives submerged in the river around noon the next day, police said.

As of Sunday, crews had searched 18 miles of shoreline by boat but could not deploy divers or underwater drones, as the dam was discharging water at over 23,000 cubic feet per second, compared to its average of 9,000 cubic feet per second, according to police.

Anyone who sees anything suspicious on the river is asked to call police at 608-253-1611 and press 2.