Carriers' tragedy

3 bodies found: White minivan pulled from Des Plaines River on near west side

 JOLIET - The three Herald News Carriers missing since Sunday were found dead inside their white minivan after it was pulled from the bottom of the Des Plaines River.

The bodies of Karen Bockhol, 49, her son Thomas Bockhol, 26, and daughter Tracy Bockhol, 23, all were positively identified within hours of the van's recovery near Lime Street on the river's west side about 7 p.m. Thursday.

Joliet police Lt. James Stewart and Sgt. Bob Brenczewski spotted the clue that led Joliet Fire Department divers to the missing van.

Stewart and Brenczewski, both detectives, were walking the river bank about 11 a.m. when they noticed a piece of bark missing from a tree between the corner of Lime and Bluff streets and the river, said Joliet Police Chief David Gerdes.

Looking closer, the detectives also discovered traces of white paint on the tree and what appeared to be plastic from a broken automobile light cover on the ground nearby, said Joliet police Cmdr. James Grace.

Divers went into the water about 2:30 p.m. and searched the murky river for nearly two hours before locating the van.

The van lay upside down in the riverbed about 10 feet off shore in 12 feet of water. The vehicle was about 125 feet downstream from where police believe it went into the water.

Divers struggled for nearly three more hours to hook a cable to the van, battling currents and poor visibility, so the van could be hauled ashore.

The van and three bodies inside then were transported to the police evidence room on a flatbed truck. Positive identification of the bodies was made shortly before 9 p.m.

Gerdes expected officers to spend the entire night processing evidence from the bodies and van.

"We're continuing to treat this as though foul play was involved, as we have since Sunday," Gerdes said.

Police have no physical evidence suggesting foul play, and Grace declined to comment on whether Karen Bockhol made a 911 emergency call to police early Sunday morning.

Police also kept up their search for a red vehicle that may have been involved in a minor accident with the Bockhols' Dodge Caravan early Sunday morning, several hours after their last confirmed sighting.

The Bockhols disappeared while delivering Sunday's editions of The Herald News from their van on the route near their Stone Street home.

Karen Bockhol's eldest son, Wayne, 29, stayed in the house he lived in with his mother, sister and brother before their disappearance while divers searched the river.

"He'd rather not see them pull them out," said close family friend Vicki Brisco. Wayne Bockhol also was home when news broke that the van was found with the three bodies of his family members inside.

"He was trying to hold it together the best that he can," said Leonard Wrona, another family friend. "He has not hit the breaking point."

Police were walking the river bank Thursday morning as part of a new strategy to re-investigate the mystery from scratch.

"With no significant leads yet developed, it was decided to go back to square one and begin the investigation over as if the incident had just been reported," Gerdes said.

The van's windshield was buckled in but not shattered, Gerdes said. A headlight was broken, possibly from impact with the tree, and another window was broken.

The damage appears consistent with the crash into the river, Grace said, although evidence technicians were still processing the van. Police also were checking for mechanical malfunctions.

Autopsies were scheduled for this morning.

No residents of Lime or Bluff Street reported hearing or seeing anything out of the ordinary the day the Bockhols disappeared.

"I just find it hard to believe you go down a hill like this, hit a tree and nobody hears nothing, nobody sees nothing, said James Hamilton, a nephew and godson of Karen Bockhol, who reportedly was a godmother to a throng of friends and relatives.

A Lime Street resident reportedly told police that it is not uncommon for cars to drive into the river near where the van was recovered, although Gerdes said he was not aware of this.

While a distraught Wayne Bockhol stayed home with relatives and friends comforting him, numerous other family members and friends crowded Lime Street during the search for the van.

When the van was raised and driven off with a blue tarpaulin draped over it, many broke down and sobbed in each other's arms. One cursed a television cameraman as he closed in to film her.

Hamilton admitted the grisly discovery of his aunt and cousins in their van left him shaken but said, "We're going to be OK."

"We're family," Hamilton said. "We stick together." Randy Chapman, publisher of The Herald News, waited in the newsroom as the Bockhol's van was recovered.

"Tonight's discovery is a tragic outcome to the puzzling whereabouts of Karen and her children since Sunday morning," Chapman said. "Now we anxiously await information from the investigators on how this could have happened.

"On behalf of the family of Herald News employees and motor route drivers, we join the rest of the community with condolences to the Bockhol family and friends in their time of profound sadness."

Crisis counselors were on hand when motor route drivers arrived early this morning for their Herald News routes, Chapman said. The counselors are representatives of the Family Counseling Agency of Will and Grundy counties, led by Jim Kubalewski; and from Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center, led by Deacon Ed Petak and Kevin M. Davis. The counselors will also be offered Saturday morning.