Naked Body In Des Plaines River Was Missing Joliet Man

JOLIET, IL — A naked body discovered Tuesday morning about five miles downstream from downtown Joliet has been identified as 26-year-old Dorien Smith. Smith had been missing and presumed to be a drowning victim since the middle of January.

Tuesday's recovery occurred at 7:30 a.m. in the 23800 block of Youngs Road. Employees at one of the large companies that work along the Des Plaines River made the discovery, according to Joliet Fire Chief Greg Blaskey.

Blaskey said the location where the body was found is closer to Channahon, and probably about five miles downstream from downtown Joliet. Sources told Patch that the body pulled from the river had no clothes. When Smith vanished on Jan. 16 after a downtown Joliet bridge tender heard a splash in the water, Joliet police recovered Smith's clothes near the canal.

A Joliet Fire Department boat was launched for recovery operations. The Will County Coroner's Office later reported the drowning victim was 26-year-old Joliet resident Dorien Smith.

In January, Smith, according to Joliet police, jumped into the frigid waters near the Bicentennial Park.

The bodies of two other Joliet men who drowned in Joliet's canal waters were recovered in the middle of January and early March.