Naperville man's drowning an accident

A Naperville man who drowned in the Fox River had been using cocaine shortly before his death and may have believed he was being chased, authorities said.

A Kane County coroner's jury this week ruled the death of Larry R. Steward an accident. The 26-year-old's body was found March 5 off the banks of an island in Aurora.

At an inquest Wednesday, Aurora police Detective Andrew Wolcott testified that Steward had attended a "gang party" in Ottawa the night he died.

After riding to Aurora with two men from the party, Steward inexplicably wandered off while the men stopped at a gas station. He then knocked on several doors in the 500 block of Rosewood Avenue, asking for anyone to let him in because he was "being chased by some gang members," Wolcott said.

Steward was allowed into one residence for a short time while people there attempted to contact someone who knew him. Eventually, his girlfriend arrived to pick him up, Wolcott said, but Steward took off running.

Steward was missing four days before his body washed up in the Fox River. Wolcott said police suspect he may have jumped over a fence along the river and fell in.

"At this time of year, the Fox River was moving kind of fast and was rather high," he said. "It was extremely dark there. There was no light."

Police said those who communicated with Steward that night reported suspicious behavior and "strange talking." At the party, he had performed as a rapper before leaving with the unidentified men, who told police Steward used cocaine in the car ride to Aurora.

A deputy coroner also testified that Steward had a large amount of cocaine metabolites in his system, as well as alcohol. His cause of death is listed as drowning and cocaine and ethanol intoxication.