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The Second Sergeant of Our Police Fores Drowned This Forenoon in the River Just Above the Bridge. He and Frank, ‘Sandy,’ Duker and two Women Were up There on a Pleasure Trip. In the Absence of the Women Daly Entered the Water and Was Seen no More— Searching for the Body. Kind Words From Chief Ahern for the Dead Man—A Faithful Son and Officer—The Body Found. John TF. Daly, second sergeant of the Quincy police force, was drowned this forenoon, shortly after 9 o’clock, in the river, about half a mile north of the rail road bridge. Frank (better known as “Sandy” Duker, one of the three parties with Daly told the story to a JouRNAL reporter substantially as follows: “We left here about 4:30 this morning for a pleasure trip. There were two ladies with us, I don’t know their names. “It happened about fifteen minutes after g o'clock. We were on the Illinois bank about four or five blocks above the bridge. Thad stripped and waded about fifty yards out to a sandbar. Daly said that he couldn’t swim. One of the ladies offered to take him over in a boat, but he said that if I could go over, he could too. “The ladies rowed up the river and as soon as they were out of sight, Daly stripped and entered the water.The water being so shallow—not over my head any where—I never dreamed of any danger to Daly and I paid no further attention to him. When I looked again, he had gone and we could find no trace of him any where. THEIR VAIN SEARCH FOR THE BODY, “I staid up there for about two hours looking everywhere for Daly. I couldn’t believe that he was drowned and I called repeatedly for him, but there was no answer. “I suppose that he must have been taken with the cramps. If he had given even one call for help, I could have got him out. “I came down shortly before noon, bringing Daly’s clothing, which he had left on the bank. Then I went back. (Fred Chandler and a colored man named Louis Irwin, went up with Duker to help search for the body.) We searched closely every where, but could not find the body. We had no grappling hooks. We’ could see Daly’s foot prints, where he went, down the bank.” “Do the women believe that Daly was drowned ?” . “They do now. We all came to the con clusion that he must have been drowned.” SEVERAL SEARCHING PARTIES ORGAN IZED. . It was 1713 o’clock this afternoon when Duker, Chandler and Irwin returned to R. G. Brown's boat house, foot of Spring street. Patrolmen Reardon, Tom Ryan and a JOURNAL reporter were at the boat house when the searchers rowed in. The patrol men were well nigh affected to tears at the verification of what they had hoped was merely a false rumor. A crowd soon gathered and there were many expressions of genuine sorrow over the unfortunate tragedy. William Mills, a brother-in-law of Daly, came flying down in a buggy and at once took steps for the organization of a search ing party, provided with grappling hooks. Several other searching parties were or ganized and were soon at work. Patrolman Reardon said that Daly was an expert swimmer. NEARLY FIVE YEARS ON. THE FORCE, Police Clerk Weber said that Daly went on the police force as patrolman, August 2, 1888. He has been on the force ever since—four years and eleven months. He served one year as a detective and was serving his second year as second sergeant —outside night work. The station officers all expressed the deepest regrets over the loss. CHEF AHERN SHOCKED. Chief Ahern was greatly shocked at the news of the death of Sergeant Daly. Flo rode down town on a street car with the deceased at 5 o’clock last evening. Daly at that time said nothing about going fishing today. To one of the other members of the force he did say early this morning, however, that he was going up the river on a pleasure trip. The chief was astonished to hear that Sergeant Daly was out with two moments of color. He states that he has known Daly for some years and has never known of his associating with such characters. Ile has never even heard him speak of them except in the line of his duty as an officer. . . Chief Ahern says emphatically, and The ‘JouRNAL coincides with the chief's state ment, that John Daly was one of the best, most active, most willing and most faithful police officers that this city has had in years. He took a laudable pride in mak ing a good record, and this made of him a splendid officer. Daly was, until less than a year ago, a member of the Western Catholic Union, a society that pays an insurance of $2,000 on the death of one of its members. A little less than a year ago there were five or six deaths in a month or 50, bringing on as many assessments, and this caused the de ceased to drop out. At the time of his death he was a member of the Fireman’s Benevolent association. Chief Ahern speaks in high terms of praise of Dalyasasan. His parents are aged and have needed his assistance. This the chief says Daly has freely given. lis untimely death will be a double blow to them. ‘They live at 624 Vine street. THE BODY FOUND. Daly's body was found this afternoon at 3 o'clock by Rube Osborn. Ile found the body at a point about 73 feet south of where Daly entered the water. ‘The body was naked and showed no marks of vio lence. When Osborn found the body he was wading around in water about waist deep. “Butch” Reardon, Chas. Gillespie and young Osborn rowed the skiff down to the foot of Spring, towing the body in the water after them. They got to the boat house at 3:30 o'clock. ‘The body was kept in the water pending the holding of the inquest. Reardon says that where Daly went in the water is mostly about five and one-half feet deep but the party found several holes deeper than their pole was long. The news of the accident spread rapidly, and when the skiff and remains arrived, some sixty or seventy of Daly’s friends were at-the-boat-howse. At 3:46 Coroner Ryan arrived at the foot of Spring street and directed that the body be taken to Duker’s undertaking es tablishment, where the inquest will be held his evening.
Newspaper Details
Quincy Journal
Quincy, Illinois, US
Fri, Jul 07, 1893
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Catherine F.
USA 04 Aug 2026
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