Crime & Safety

Men Rescued After Canoe Capsizes: Update

Downers Grove, Lisle residents rescued after choppy waters cause canoe to overturn.

Two 20-year-olds escaped unharmed after their canoe capsized at Bolingbrook's Whalon Lake on Saturday evening.


Forest Preserve District of Will County police said the two men — one from Downers Grove and the other from Lisle — were both wearing life jackets when the canoe overturned due to choppy water at around 6:50 p.m.

The men told police they didn't think the water was that rough when they began canoeing, but ran into trouble when the canoe was about 50 feet from shore.

The Lisle man was able to swim to shore, while the Downers Grove man grabbed onto a nearby tree about 20 feet from shore. Bolingbrook Fire Department personnel were able to save the man, according to Forest Preserve District of Will County Police.

Neither man had any medical complaints after the rescue, and both signed EMS refusals. No citations were issued, and the canoe was retrieved following the incident, police said.

Whalon Lake preserve, located off of Royce Road, is owned by the Forest Preserve District of Will County. The dog park portion is in Naperville, while the lake is in Bolingbrook.


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