Rochester, Illinois – On Monday, June 1, around 5:35 p.m., police received a report of a missing swimmer at a pond near the 6600 block of Minder Road.
The victim, who has been identified as Devon W Mikuleza, age 18, of Rochester, was fishing with another person when he attempted to swim across the pond. Mikuleza went underwater and drowned.
Mikuleza was found and pronounced deceased at 8:15 p.m. yesterday at the scene. An autopsy has been scheduled for this afternoon and the death in still under investigation by the Sangamon County Coroner’s Office and the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office.
According to a GoFundMe page created for Mikuleza, “Devon Was only 18, had just graduated from high school and had his whole life ahead of him. He was out fishing with a friend, enjoying a beautiful day. At this point i do not know details so will stop there. All I know for sure is God must have needed another Angel so he reached down and took Devon by the hand. Devon- you were so loved and will be missed. Your Mom your Dad. Your family all love you so much. John and Lisa are going through something no parent should ever have to go through, no pain compares to loosing a child. But as with do many of us there was no insurance after all nobody can ever imagine needing it for a child. So today with tears in my heart i ask for help from everyone who can so we can get his funeral taken care of. I will post more as i know more. But please help if you can. John and Lisa need us now more than ever. I love you Devon. John and Lisa. Sandy and all the family I Love you too”
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO Devon Mikuleza GOFUNDME PAGE – CLICK HERE
According to a statement released from Rochester School District:
Rocket Families,
It is with great sadness that I am writing to you this morning regarding a tragic accident that has resulted in a significant loss in our schools and in our community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the young man,our student, who lost his life.
Our top priority is the well-being of our students who are hurting and grieving. To that end, we have taken several steps to assist them in dealing with this terrible loss. We have activated our crisis counseling team to be at our schools. We have met with our teachers this morning to help prepare them to assist our students. If your child is needing to talk with someone please call RHS at 217-498-9761 ext 3235 and an individual appointment will be made.
The sudden loss of life can have a profound effect on young people so we encourage you to talk to your child about their feelings and how they are dealing with this tragedy. We have counselors available to assist, so please let us know if your child would like to meet with one of them.
This loss affects everyone in our school family and in the Rochester community. We will do everything we can to help with the healing process and we appreciate your continued support of our students.
Be the Difference,
Dan W. Cox, Superintendent of Schools