KANKAKEE, Ill. -- A 5-year-old girl who disappeared two days ago while boating walked up to searchers on Friday -- naked, scratched and with berries in her hands -- hours after her grandfather's body was pulled from the Kankakee River.
Searchers Friday morning found the body of the 62-year-old grandfather in the water near a small island on the Kankakee River.
Hours after they pulled the body of David Klamecki from the water, Hannah Klamecki walked out of the woods and approached searchers.
Paramedics were checking on Hannah Klamecki's condition, said Kankakee County Undersheriff Brad O'Keefe.
"She come walking up to us out of the woods," O'Keefe said.
The grandfather's body "was found floating in the river near where the boat was, which leads us to believe it was caught in a log jam and just got released by the current," O'Keefe said.
The two were last seen on the river near Momence at about 7 p.m. Wednesday. The sheriff's office was notified at about 11 p.m. that they were missing.
Searchers believed Hannah Klamecki, whose footprints were still visible on the island beach, had drowned, and they were searching the river. She told searchers her grandfather had gone swimming, O'Keefe said.
"People were like, 'Who's that little girl? That can't be her, can it?'" Chief Deputy Ken McCabe said. "I went up to her (and) asked, 'How you doing? What's your name?'"
Searchers gave Hannah Klamecki food and water and took her to a hospital as a precaution, McCabe said.
Authorities believe the river current swept Hannah Klamecki away from a small island where the two had stopped to swim, to the shore of the mainland where she eventually was found.
She told searchers that she was wearing flotation devices on her arms, and pulled herself from the water with a branch. The island is near a bend in the river that locals call "Whirlpool Bend."
Sonar equipment was used in the search that had been suspended at nightfall Thursday. Authorities have said that the river near the island drops suddenly from a few inches to 13 feet deep.
Lake County, Ind., sent a team of divers and a helicopter to help with the search. The Momence Fire Department, the Illinois State Police and the Illinois Department of Conservation and the Kankakee County sheriff's river patrol unit also helped in the search.
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