(CARLYLE, IL) — A 62-year-old missing Aviston man has been found dead inside his Ford Explorer after it was found submerged in 11 to 12 feet of water in Brewster Creek near Boulder. Gerald Richter was pronounced dead on the scene. Clinton County Sheriff Doug Maue says Richter apparently ran off the Boulder Road at the Brewster Creek Bridge for unknown reasons. Richter had a clubhouse in the area. He had been reported missing on Thursday. During the search on Monday, one of the license plates from Richter’s vehicle was found near a damaged guard rail. Maue says the Huey-Boulder-Ferrin Fire Department, the Keyesport and Greenville Fire Department Dive Teams, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer park rangers were all called to the scene. The divers located the vehicle after an alerting device used by the U.S. Army Corps pinpointed its location. The vehicle was found about two hours after the discovery of the license plate. Clinton County Coroner Phil Moss produced Richter dead at the scene. Maue says it appears he had been dead for several days. The death is being investigated as a traffic crash. Maue says water levels in the creek are about twice as high as normal due to the high level of Carlyle Lake.

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