S-Des
Comfortably Numb
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- Dec 8, 2005
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After missing for two days (and hours after finding the body of her grandfather who, along with a 5 year-old, was lost in the strong currents of the Kankakee river), searchers had given up hope. To their utter astonishment, a naked and scratched Hannah stumbled out of the woods into their midst. They are calling it the most miraculous find in Illinois history.
Chicago Tribune
Alone and scared, 5-year-old Hannah Klamecki prayed. She tried to sleep under a tree, but the bugs were too loud. So she walked, naked and barefoot, through the forest, trying to find her way back to her grandparents' house.
"I went searching all over the world to look for the cottage," Hannah said Friday, cradling a teddy bear she'd gotten in the hospital. "It was hard to see where you're going."
For two days, the little girl's parents and rescue workers feared she was dead.
On Wednesday, her grandfather had dragged his boat -- stocked with swimsuits, life jackets and a sand pail -- onto a small island in the Kankakee River about 1 1/2 miles from where the pair had embarked on an afternoon boating trip.
It was hot and they were going in the water.
When they didn't return by dinnertime, their family began to wonder. By 10:30 p.m., they called the Momence Fire Department. Searchers found the boat on the island four hours later.
David and Hannah Klamecki had disappeared.
Dozens of searchers from several agencies combed the area with the help of a team of divers, sonar equipment and a helicopter -- almost certain Hannah and her grandfather had drowned in the swift-moving area of the river that locals call "Whirlpool Bend." Hannah's tiny footprints were still visible in the sand and her lifejacket was in the boat.
When they found the body of David Klamecki, 62, near the island around 8 a.m. Friday, they lost all hope.
"After grandpa was found ... I think everybody was in recovery mode," said Ken McCabe, chief deputy of the Kankakee County Sheriff's Department. "This wasn't a rescue anymore."
Two and a half hours later, they were celebrating a miracle: A little girl -- naked, dirty and clutching raspberries -- emerged from a wooded area on the mainland and walked up to searchers. It was Hannah.
"People were like, 'Who's that little girl? That can't be her, can it?"' McCabe said. "I went up to her (and) asked, 'How you doing? What's your name?"'
When authorities told Hannah's family -- already grieving the loss of her grandfather -- that she was alive, the home erupted in screaming.
"It was very emotional," Momence Fire Chief Dave Horn said. The rest of the story.
Chicago Tribune
Alone and scared, 5-year-old Hannah Klamecki prayed. She tried to sleep under a tree, but the bugs were too loud. So she walked, naked and barefoot, through the forest, trying to find her way back to her grandparents' house.
"I went searching all over the world to look for the cottage," Hannah said Friday, cradling a teddy bear she'd gotten in the hospital. "It was hard to see where you're going."
For two days, the little girl's parents and rescue workers feared she was dead.
On Wednesday, her grandfather had dragged his boat -- stocked with swimsuits, life jackets and a sand pail -- onto a small island in the Kankakee River about 1 1/2 miles from where the pair had embarked on an afternoon boating trip.
It was hot and they were going in the water.
When they didn't return by dinnertime, their family began to wonder. By 10:30 p.m., they called the Momence Fire Department. Searchers found the boat on the island four hours later.
David and Hannah Klamecki had disappeared.
Dozens of searchers from several agencies combed the area with the help of a team of divers, sonar equipment and a helicopter -- almost certain Hannah and her grandfather had drowned in the swift-moving area of the river that locals call "Whirlpool Bend." Hannah's tiny footprints were still visible in the sand and her lifejacket was in the boat.
When they found the body of David Klamecki, 62, near the island around 8 a.m. Friday, they lost all hope.
"After grandpa was found ... I think everybody was in recovery mode," said Ken McCabe, chief deputy of the Kankakee County Sheriff's Department. "This wasn't a rescue anymore."
Two and a half hours later, they were celebrating a miracle: A little girl -- naked, dirty and clutching raspberries -- emerged from a wooded area on the mainland and walked up to searchers. It was Hannah.
"People were like, 'Who's that little girl? That can't be her, can it?"' McCabe said. "I went up to her (and) asked, 'How you doing? What's your name?"'
When authorities told Hannah's family -- already grieving the loss of her grandfather -- that she was alive, the home erupted in screaming.
"It was very emotional," Momence Fire Chief Dave Horn said. The rest of the story.
