Man Drowns After Jumping Into Joliet Canal During Police Investigation

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet Fire Department recovered the body of a 51-year-old domestic violence suspect who jumped into the frigid waters of the downtown Joliet canal around 4 a.m. Sunday.

On Monday afternoon, the Office Of Will County Coroner Laurie Summers identified the man as Joliet resident Rodney Bayless. He was pronounced dead at 5:45 a.m. Sunday.

About two hours earlier, Joliet police were called to the Heritage Place Apartments at 400 North Bluff Street for a domestic incident around 3:40 a.m. A woman was attacked by her boyfriend, Joliet police noted.

While investigating the crime, Joliet officers heard a man's voice yelling for help from the nearby Des Plaines River, Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English said.

The Joliet Fire Department launched its boat into the water and the unresponsive man was recovered from the river. An ambulance rushed Bayless to St. Joe's hospital, where he died.

"It was determined that the victim was the same male involved in the earlier disturbance at 400 North Bluff Street," English revealed. "Officers learned that the male commented about jumping into the river during the disturbance."