Galesburg Police are now saying the body of an individual found near Cedar Fork Saturday night is that of a 23-year old California man.GPD responded to a report of an unresponsive person at the bottom of Cedar Fork, 75 yards east of Academy Street, just before 7 p.m.
The person has been identified as Tyler L. Smith of Concord, California who was in town for Illinois Army National Guard training.
Galesburg Police took a missing person report for Smith earlier Saturday when he failed to show up for training.
Smith and a friend were at a local tavern Friday night and Smith was last seen leaving the establishment alone on foot around 11:30 p.m.
An autopsy performed reveal that Smith’s cause of death was drowning and no injury or foul play were found.
Police also note that Smith had recently moved from Rochelle, Illinois, about 25 miles south of Rockford to California.
Cedar Fork is a concrete canal that runs northeast to southwest through Galesburg parallel to the BNSF railroad tracks.
THIS STORY HAS BEEN CHANGED FROM AN EARLIER VERSION TO INCLUDE THAT SMITH WAS IN THE ILLINOIS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD, NOT THE NAVAL RESERVES AS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED.