
Missing 63-year-old Iowa City man found dead in Iowa River near Hills. No foul play suspected
A missing local man has been found dead in the Iowa River several miles from his last known location.
Christopher Jennings, 63, was last seen in Iowa City on May 22. The Press-Citizen published a story on the search for Jennings on May 27.
His body was found by Johnson County sheriff's deputies in the Iowa River eight days after he was last seen on Friday, May 30, near the Benton Street bridge. Jennings was discovered about one-and-a-half miles north of Hills, at least five miles south of his last known location.
More: Iowa City ups Aid to Agencies funding to record $1.1M. What nonprofits are getting money?
Jennings was taken to a University of Iowa hospital for an autopsy and was positively identified by the Johnson County Medical Examiner on Tuesday, June 3. The cause of his death has not yet been determined.
The City of Iowa City announced Jennings' death in a press release on Wednesday, June 4. Police said in the release that they do not suspect foul play.
Iowa City police and the Iowa State Patrol conducted several searches on land, water, and "from the air," according to the press release.
Photos shared by police when Jennings was initially reported missing show the 63-year-old at a local Casey's wearing a baseball hat with a beanie on top.
More: 'Substantial' DEI, CRT college courses won't be required in Iowa under new proposal
"Jennings is known to frequently fish near the Riverfront Crossings area of Iowa City," police said in their initial release.
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office and the Johnson County Medical Examiner are continuing to investigate, but noted that no additional information is available.
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Authorities find dead body of a missing Iowa City man in Iowa River
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Business Upturn
a day ago
- Business Upturn
ImpactLife shares highlights from World Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Day event
Davenport, Iowa, June 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ImpactLife hosted a special event at its Davenport, Iowa headquarters to recognize World Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Day as part of local celebrations of the Juneteenth federal holiday. The Juneteenth holiday — commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States — is also recognized as World Sickle Cell Awareness Day with the goal to increase public knowledge of sickle cell disease and the challenges experienced by patients and caregivers. Community members and blood center employees gathered on Thursday, June 19, to learn about the importance of blood transfusions in providing supportive care for sickle cell patients and to hear personal experiences from those who live with sickle cell disease, or who have lost loved ones to the genetically inherited blood disorder. Speakers included Beleta Rush, who shared writings and experiences from the lives of her two daughters, Lynn and Bobbie. View and download video clips from the event, below, or on the ImpactLife web site. Dr. Meredith Parsons, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pathology from University of Iowa, provided an overview on sickle cell disease, how it affects patients, and the importance of having appropriately matched units of blood available for patients who are likely to receive multiple rounds of blood transfusions throughout their lives. Shyneeta Rush, Supervisor, Donor Services, described the blood center's Red4Life program and efforts by the blood center to identify donors who are an appropriate match for sickle cell disease patients. Cheryl Easley, of the ImpactLife donor scheduling team, helped organize the event, and recognized sickle cell 'Warriors In Battle' as well as 'Winged Warriors,' who have passed after living with the disease throughout their lives. Lamour Bluitt has two sisters living with sickle cell disease, and has authored a book on their experiences, A Child Born with Sickle Cell: the Untold Secret. About Sickle Cell Disease Sickle dell disease is an inherited blood disorder that affects red blood cells. It is the most common hereditary disorder and currently affects more than 100,000 Americans, predominantly people of African descent. The red blood cells in patients with sickle cell disease can become 'sickled' in shape, which can cause the cells to become stuck in small blood vessels. Patients can experience pain and anemia and are at increased risk for strokes and other types of organ damage. When patients experience a sickle cell crisis, red cell transfusion is a major form of therapy to relieve symptoms. Patients with sickle cell disease frequently receive transfusions of red blood cells to help treat symptoms of a sickle cell crisis. But finding appropriately matched units for sickle cell disease patients is a challenge for blood providers. With more frequent blood transfusions, patients with sickle cell disease can develop antibodies that are directed against red blood cell antigens. This process, called alloimmunization, makes it important for patients to receive antigen-negative blood types that are more generally found in donors of African descent. To help increase the diversity of the blood center's donor base, ImpactLife has created a donor program called Red4Life. Under Red4Life, the blood center identifies and recruits donors who may be an appropriate antigen match for patients with sickle cell disease. These donors are then invited to join the Red4Life program and receive special donor rewards and additional points to use in the ImpactLife Donor Loyalty Store. (Learn more at About ImpactLife ImpactLife's mission is to save lives by engaging donors, supporting partners, and advancing medicine. Founded in 1974, ImpactLife supplies blood products and services to hundreds of hospitals, emergency services organizations, clinical researchers, and other blood centers throughout Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri. The nonprofit blood provider is ranked among the leading 12 blood suppliers in the United States. For more information on current blood inventory levels, our donor promotions, and more, see and find us @impactlifeblood on Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Attachments Beleta Rush ImpactLife – World Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Day group photo Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with GlobeNewswire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same. Ahmedabad Plane Crash

3 days ago
ICE takes custody of Spanish-language journalist arrested at Georgia protest
U.S. immigration authorities said Wednesday they have detained a Spanish-language journalist, who will face deportation proceedings following his arrest on charges of obstructing police and unlawful assembly while covering a weekend protest outside Atlanta. Mario Guevara was turned over by police to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody three days after he was jailed in DeKalb County, agency spokesman Lindsay Williams said in an emailed statement. His case now goes to immigration court to determine whether Guevara, a native of El Salvador, can remain in the U.S. His attorney, Giovanni Diaz, has said that Guevara was doing his job and committed no crime when police arrested him. He also says Guevara has legal authorization to live and work in the U.S., and has a pending application for permanent residency. Diaz did not immediately return phone and email messages Wednesday. Guevara fled El Salvador two decades ago and built a large following as an independent journalist covering immigration in the Atlanta area. He was livestreaming video on social media Saturday from a DeKalb County rally protesting President Donald Trump's administration when local police arrested him. 'I'm a member of the media, officer,' Guevara tells a police officer right before he's arrested. The video shows Guevara wearing a bright red shirt under a protective vest with 'PRESS' printed across his chest. DeKalb County officials have said at least eight people were arrested during the Saturday demonstration, with police using tear gas to turn away protesters marching toward an interstate onramp. Guevara's video shows him standing on a sidewalk with other journalists, with no sign of big crowds or confrontations around him, right before he's arrested. Jail records show Guevara was charged with obstructing police, unlawful assembly and improperly entering a roadway. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned Guevara's arrest and detention by ICE. 'His ongoing detention signals a frightening erosion of press freedom in the U.S.,' Katherine Jacobsen, the group's U.S. program coordinator, said in a statement. ICE's statement did not say why Guevara was being detained or where he would be held. Williams did not immediately respond to an email message asking those questions. Guevara fled El Salvador with his family in 2004, saying he was beaten and repeatedly harassed because of his work as a political reporter for the newspaper La Prensa Grafica. They immigrated to Georgia, where Guevara worked as a reporter for Georgia's largest Spanish-language newspaper, Mundo Hispanico, before launching his own online news site, MGNews. An immigration judge in 2012 denied Guevara's application for asylum and ordered him and his family to leave the country. However, ICE worked with Guevara's lawyer to close his case without deporting anyone. Diaz said it was resolved with Guevara receiving authorization to continue working in the U.S. Diaz has said Guevara has a strong case to remain in the U.S., though the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown has left the journalist's family worried.


The Hill
4 days ago
- The Hill
Trump administration to shutter LGBTQ youth suicide hotline next month
President Trump's administration has ordered a crisis service for LGBTQ youth to close within 30 days in a move that opponents have said will have dire consequences. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) said in a news release late Tuesday that 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, will 'no longer silo' LGBTQ youth services, also known as the 'Press 3 option,' beginning July 17 'to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option.' The agency's announcement, made during Pride month, said the program, which launched in 2022 under former President Biden, had provided specialized services to 'LGB+ youth,' removing 'transgender' from the acronym in line with a January executive order proclaiming the U.S. recognizes only two sexes, male and female, and that those sexes 'are not changeable.' Other government agencies, including the State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have scrubbed references to transgender people and trans-specific resources from their websites since Trump took office. The fate of the LGBTQ youth suicide hotline has been in flux since April, when The Washington Post reported that a leaked Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget proposal for 2026 would eliminate the program's funding. The White House confirmed those plans earlier this month but said funding for 988 would remain unchanged at $520 million for the year. The Health Department's annual budget 'does not, however, grant taxpayer money to a chat service where children are encouraged to embrace radical gender ideology by 'counselors' without consent or knowledge of their parents,' said Rachel Cauley, a spokesperson for the White House's Office of Management and Budget. The service for LGBTQ youth has received nearly 1.3 million calls, texts and online chat messages since its launch in 2022, according to SAMHSA. In February, the program received an average of 2,100 crisis contacts daily. In an email, a spokesperson for the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that responds to roughly half of 988 calls and texts from LGBTQ youth, said the suicide prevention organization had received an official stop-work order from the Trump administration for its work supporting 988's specialized services for LGBTQ youth. 'This is devastating, to say the least. Suicide prevention is about people, not politics,' said Jaymes Black, the Trevor Project's CEO. 'The administration's decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.' A report released by the group last year found that 39 percent of LGBTQ 13- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. considered suicide over the past year, including 46 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth. Half of LGBTQ young people who wanted mental health care said they were unable to access it. News that the Trump administration would terminate funding for 988's specialized services for LGBTQ youth drew intense backlash from opponents across the aisle. More than 100 House Democrats wrote in a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month that the move would have 'lethal consequences if enacted,' and two Republicans, in a separate letter, said cutting the program would strip 'a critical resource for youth already at elevated risk.' 'Elimination of services that help keep youth alive is reckless, and we urge you to reconsider your proposal,' seven Senate Democrats wrote last month in another letter to Kennedy. Celebrities across the entertainment industry have also called for the administration to reconsider its decision. 'This is about people, not politics,' performers including Pedro Pascal, Daniel Radcliffe, Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa wrote in an open letter organized by The Trevor Project. 'At a time of deep division, let this be something we as people can all agree on: no young person should be left without help in their darkest moment.'