Missing piece of 9/11 Memorial found in Lake Decatur

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — It's been two years since a piece of the Decatur 9/11 memorial went missing. The Decatur Park District believed it had been thrown in Lake Decatur, but they were never able to find it.

"We kind of had a hunch that it was maybe thrown in the lake," said Clay Gerhard, Executive Director at the Decatur Park District. "Despite the efforts of crews that came down with sonar systems, the park district police used magnets and grapple hooks to see if they could find it, we had a dive team come out, and we just never could find it."

But that changed with the recent drought. With the water level in Lake Decatur down more than four feet, someone walking along the shore was able to spot the missing piece.

The piece is part of a filing cabinet that was melted to a beam when the Twin Towers collapsed. Volunteers at the memorial are happy the piece was finally returned.

"It was just so awesome that somebody actually found it," said Paula Luckenbill, who frequently volunteers to clean the memorial and the area around it. "I was always looking for it as the lake went further and further down. I'd walk from the Beach House down the lake."

The piece was returned to the Park District, where an employee went to work cleaning it up. Gerhard is hoping they can re-attach the piece to the memorial.

"There weren't pieces given out all over the US," said Gerhard. "I think about 150 pieces of the memorial were kept, so we are very blessed to have something like this in Decatur. It shows how much Decatur loves not just this community, but the nation."

Now, instead of a plaque on the memorial, the missing piece will be returned to it's original location.

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