Missing 20-year-old’s body found months after boat capsizes in river, WI cops say
A months-long search for a 20-year-old who vanished into “volatile” Wisconsin waters has ended, police said.
Francesco Di Filippo went missing on April 3 when a boat carrying him, his 75-year-old grandfather and one other capsized, according to Wisconsin Dells police, WMTV reported.
His body was recovered by Lake Delton officials on June 29, and he was identified based on the clothes he was wearing, police said in a news release.
The grandfather, 75-year-old Luis F. Di Filippo of Chicago, was found dead in the river on April 4, police said. The third person in the boat swam safely to shore.
The group was out fishing when the fatal accident happened, friends wrote in a GoFundMe.
“I am trying to process never seeing him, but the pain of him missing and living in hope that we can lay him to rest is undescriblable,” his mother Lina Di Filippo Schultz said in a May 8 Facebook post.
Search efforts for Francesco were hindered by dangerous and elevated waters, according to police, but loved ones remained hopeful that his body would be found.
“He was such a beautiful soul. He came into our lives at a dark time and brought light,” his girlfriend’s mother, Liz Zuelke, said in a Facebook post.
Wisconsin Dells is about a 55-mile drive northwest from Madison.
This story was originally published June 30, 2025 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Missing 20-year-old’s body found months after boat capsizes in river, WI cops say."
