Body Found In Des Plaines River Identified As Missing Joliet Man
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A dead body recovered from the Des Plaines River last week was identified as a 19-year-old man who had been missing for five days in southwest suburban Joliet.
Lonnie R. Jones, of Joliet, was found in the Des Plaines River in the 700 block of Railroad Street on April 18, according to Joliet police and the Will County coroner's office. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:15 p.m.
That day, fire crews doing a routine river-dragging training exercise found the body about 4 p.m. in the boat launch of the river, authorities said.
Jones was reported missing on April 13, the coroner's office said. The body was identified on Tuesday using dental records, and his death was preliminarily ruled a drowning.
A final cause of death will be determined following toxicology tests and a police investigation, the coroner's office said.
At the time of the incident, police said they thought the body might have been of a man who threatened to jump in an April 10 suicide attempt from the Cass Street Bridge, about 2 miles upstream of where the body was found.
Police could not be reached early Friday for comment.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
