(WWJ) The body of a Trenton priest missing in the Detroit River since Sunday has been recovered.
The Grosse Ile Police Department says members of a fishing charter spotted the body of 66-year old Fr. Stephen Rooney this morning, north of Monroe Harbor in Frenchtown Township.
Authorities said there were nine adults and five children aboard the boat that flipped over after hitting wake off Stoney Island, near Grosse Ile, at around 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
People on a boat from Ontario stepped up to help rescue several people from the water following the accident, but two men were lost: Rooney, a popular priest at Saint Joe’s Church in Trenton, and 53-year-old Robert Chiles of Grosse Ile. Chiles, whose wife took her own life in the river last September, was driving the boat, according to authorities.
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Chiles' body was recovered by officials late Tuesday night in the Detroit River.
On Thursday, Grosse Ile Police Department and Wayne County Marine Division assisted the Monroe County Sheriff Department in the recovery of Rooney's body, which was around 14 miles from where the boat flipped.
The extensive search for Fr. Rooney and Chiles involved law enforcement agencies from both the United States and Canada, including the Grosse Ile Police Department, Wayne County Sheriff, U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards, Windsor Police and the Monroe County Sheriff Department. Members of the Downriver Mutual Aid Dive Team also assisted.
An autopsy is expected to be conducted by the Office of the Wayne County Medical Examiner on August 21.
Officials said the investigation into the accident is still on going.