Benefiting families so they can receive that needed closure
QUINCY, ILL. -- This time last year the Volunteer Emergency Corps was out searching for 59-year-old Richard Hively.
He was fishing at night when he went missing on the Mississippi River.
One year ago next Saturday, Hively was found past Lock and Dam 21 by the Quincy-Adams County Volunteer Emergency Corps, two days after he went missing on the Mississippi River.
Saturday, the first annual Richard Hively Fundraiser brought hundreds of people together to raise money for the people who brought closure to their family.
"We needed that closure and the corps did not give up. They started, they were there at the scene, they were first at the scene, and they were the last to bring him home...Without the corps, I don't think we would have found my father as quickly as we did. We're thankful, we're grateful, for what they did," said Hively's daughter Leanne Tournear.
To show their gratitude, community members came out to Quincy's North Side Boat Club for a benefit for the corps. The money will be used for gas for their boats, food, water and anything else they might need while out on a search and rescue mission. Kevin Huner has been a corps member for several years.
"It's very important for families missing a loved one. At least they can call us and we can at least go look for them and hopefully find them," said Huner.
Which is what John Flaiz's family can only hope for. Flaiz has been missing on the river since a boat collision last Saturday night.
"We still got a lot of members still out there looking. Some of us are here, but a majority of us are still out on the water searching and they will be still searching until days to come until we find him," said Huner.
"We know exactly what this family is going through. Although, our's was not as long. They need this closure, they need this corps's support. They need us to help support the corps," said Tournear.
Tournear says she's received donations from all over the country, including Alabama and Wisconsin.
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