PECATONICA, Ill. (WTVO) — Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana confirmed Monday that a 1966 Chevrolet Impala, linked to the 1976 disappearance of Clarence Owens and Everett Hawley, has been pulled from the Pecatonica River.
Fire crews and divers from several local agencies were seen on the river after 9 a.m.
Caruana said fishermen had alerted police last week that an object had been discovered on sonar that could be a vehicle.
Around 2:30 p.m. today, divers and fire personnel were able to pull the submerged vehicle from the water and the coroner was called to the scene.
Caruana confirmed the vehicle was connected to the missing mens’ case.
Hawley, 72, and Owens, 65, went missing on February 19th, 1976.
According to the International Center for Unidentified and Missing Persons, the two men were business partners and were last seen between 2:40 p.m. and 3 p.m. at a farm auction. Earlier that day, they had attended a political rally for gubernatorial candidate James Thompson at the American Legion in Pecatonica, stopped off at Rocky’s Cafe, and visited Owen’s son, who lived nearby.
The pair failed to keep a scheduled appointment in German Valley and were reported missing by their families the next day.
A joint search by Stephenson and Winnebago county authorities and Civil Air Patrol followed, according to archived reports from the Freeport Journal-Standard.
Contemporary reports said Hawley was a Freeport farm real estate broker and Owens was his salesman.
Their disappearance has puzzled investigators for decades.