FRANKLIN COUNTY — A 37-year-old Geff man has been identified as the person who drowned Friday in Rend Lake.

Jeremy Jelley had reportedly gone in the water in the North Marcum Beach area to help two young girls who appeared to be in trouble. His girlfriend reports that he managed to save the girls before he drowned.

Multiple agencies searched the lake late Friday and again Saturday before conservation officers with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources recovered Jelley’s body around 10 o’clock Sunday morning. The body was near the North Marcum Beach access.

The Franklin County Coroner’s office is planning an autopsy to confirm the cause of death.

Johnson and Vaughn Funeral Home in Fairfield is in charge of arrangements for Jelley.