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       Web site of the Rock River Valley - Rockford, Ill.
      Tuesday, April 27, 2004 


                  Local News: Roscoe, Rockton & South Beloit 
                  Belly-flop contender remains missing
                   Dorl Gates, 52, was a contestant in the Diamond Jim bar's 
                  World Belly-Flop Contest.



                  JANESVILLE, Wis. -- Law enforcement personnel from several 
                  Rock County agencies were back on the Rock River Monday 
                  looking for the body of a Beloit man who apparently drowned 
                  during a belly-flop contest Saturday.
                  Dorl Gates, 52, was the fourth contestant Saturday in the 
                  Diamond Jim bar's World Belly-Flop Contest. The bar, on 
                  Illinois 51 by the Beloit/Townline Bridge, had advertised the 
                  contest with fliers and promised the winner $300. Rock County 
                  Sheriff's Department Commander Tom Gehl said the contest 
                  originally was supposed to take place on the pier at the back 
                  of the bar, but some of the contestants wanted to jump off the 
                  bridge.
                  Gehl said the bridge is about 20 feet above the river, which 
                  is about 15 feet deep along that stretch of the river.
                  There were no boats ready to pick up contestants, he said, and 
                  the first three managed the jump and got to shore. But Gates 
                  jumped, bobbed up a couple of times and disappeared.
                  "Right now we are still getting together witness statements, 
                  and the investigation is continuing," Gehl said. He said his 
                  department and other departments will no longer be putting 
                  divers in the water.
                  He said the department has conflicting information about how 
                  much Gates might have been drinking, and it also is still 
                  trying to determine if he could swim.
                  Gehl said boats from the Town of Beloit and the Rock County 
                  Sheriff's Department will be going up and down the river 
                  checking the shoreline and the inlets to look for the body.
                  Bar owner Jim Halbach could not be reached for comment. Gehl 
                  said he had been cooperative throughout the investigation.
                  There is a videotape of the event taken by an onlooker, but it 
                  is not yet being released to the public, Gehl said.
                  "We don't want our witnesses to be influenced by seeing the 
                  video and perhaps recalling something not from their memory, 
                  but from the video," he said.
                  Gehl said charges in connection with the incident are being 
                  considered.
                  "We are looking at the county ordinances as well as state 
                  statutes as to the issue of charges," he said. "When we get 
                  the reports together, they will be given to the district 
                  attorney to review. We are also going to check with the Town 
                  of Rock (where the bar is located) to see if there were any 
                  liquor license violations."
                  Contact: kaos@registerstartower.com
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