Young Man Jumps Into Joliet's Des Plaines River

JOLIET, IL — It was one of the Joliet Fire Department's strangest emergency calls this week. A young man who appeared to be around 30 years old jumped into the dirty canal waters of the Des Plaines River right behind the Harrah's Casino around 4 p.m. Thursday.

The Joliet Fire Department was sent to the river and firefighters learned the man had jumped into the water with one of the throw rings attached to the canal deck, Joliet Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Carey told Patch.

"We arrived on the scene and he was sitting in the ring," Carey said. "Company one lowered the roof ladder down and pulled him up.

"He wasn't happy to be coming out," Carey added.

Carey said the man who was pulled from the river was taken by Station 1 ambulance to St. Joe's hospital, where he will undergo a mental health evaluation.

The Joliet Police Department also assisted in the man's rescue, Carey noted.

Carey said he did not know off-hand whether the young man was a patron of Harrah's Casino or whether he was somebody walking through the area.

Joliet's Bob Hernandez said on his Facebook Live feed that there are some homeless people who are known to congregate both sides of the river.