Bartlett man drowns after falling through ice at forest preserve

A 21-year-old man died Sunday after falling through the ice on a lake in DuPage County Forest Preserve's West Branch Forest Preserve in Bartlett.

Leon Gonzalez of Bartlett was walking on the frozen Deep Quarry Lake when he fell through the ice at 4:30 p.m., authorities said. Friends with Gonzalez called 911 when they saw him fall through the ice, according to DuPage County Forest Preserve spokeswoman Audra Bonnet.

A friend who attempted to go onto the ice to help Gonzalez was stopped by a DuPage County Sheriff's deputy, according to the forest preserve.

Forest preserve police were on the scene within minutes, Bonnet said. Police and fire units from Bartlett, Hanover Park, Winfield, Bloomingdale and the DuPage County Sheriff's Office also responded.

Bonnet said Gonzalez was believed to be under water for about an hour before he was pulled from the lake at 5:39 p.m.

He was transported to Northwestern Medicine's Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, and he was pronounced dead at 6:45 p.m., DuPage County Coroner Rich Jorgensen said.

Authorities continue to investigate, and the DuPage County Coroner's office will conduct a toxicology report and autopsy, Jorgensen said.