Funds Raised for Funeral of Boy Who Died In Paddle Boat Incident

WAUCONDA, IL — Funds are pouring in for the family of a 9-year-old boy who died after the paddle boat he was in capsized over the weekend on Bangs Lake in Wauconda. Geraldo Rodriguez Jr. would have turned 10 on Wednesday, and family members were in town Friday night to celebrate. His birthday party was scheduled for Saturday, according to a GoFundMe page set up by Rodriguez's aunt, Angi Rodriguez of Gurnee.

As of Monday afternoon, the GoFundMe has raised $13,491. The family is hoping to raise a total of $15,000 to help cover funeral costs. The family plans to hold Rodriguez's wake in Illinois and then fly Geraldo's body back to Florida for a funeral.

Geraldo grew up in Florida and the family just moved to the Wauconda area a year ago, according to the GoFundMe.

Rodriguez was in a paddle boat with his 11-year-old friend Friday night when the boat began to rock, according to WGN. Both boys got scared and jumped into the water, thinking they'd be able to swim to shore.

Fishermen were able to save the friend, but Rodriguez went underwater.

Rescue teams searching the lake were forced to call off the search Friday night due to deteriorating conditions, according to the Lake County News-Sun. The search resumed early Saturday and Side Scan Sonar technicians found and recovered Geraldo’s body around noon on Saturday, authorities said.

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