Body In Joliet Canal Hasn't Been Found 3 Weeks Later

JOLIET, IL — On back to back nights in January, people jumped into the cold and dirty waters of the Des Plaines River, prompting a large search and rescue response from the Joliet Fire Department. On Jan. 18, Joliet's dive teams recovered the body of a 39-year-old Joliet man a few hours after he jumped into the canal near the Jackson Street Bridge.

However, the body of the first person who jumped into the water near Bicentennial Park the previous night has yet to be found, according to Joliet Fire Chief Greg Blaskey.

On Wednesday afternoon, Blaskey told Joliet Patch there's no telling where the body ended up.

"We are still out looking," Blaskey said.

There are several scenarios to explain why the body has not been found 17 days later, Blaskey said.

One is that the body may have already traveled past the spillway near the Brandon Road Lock & Dam along Route 6. If that happened, the body may be several miles downstream, far from Joliet.

It's also possible the body remains trapped underneath one of the many large barges parked at different locations along the Des Plaines River from Joliet to Channahon.

A third possibility is the body got snagged on debris toward the floor of the canal and that's why the body hasn't surfaced yet, Blaskey said.

Shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 17, the Cass Street bridgetender as well as employees at Harrah's Casino & Hotel notified Joliet police that someone jumped into the water near Bicentennial Park.

Officers at the Joliet Police Department believe they know the identity of the man who jumped into the water, Patch has learned.