Authorities have confirmed that a Dixon man who jumped into the Rock River in mid-April has been found dead in the Rock River near Sterling.

Dixon Police Chief Ryan Bivins on Thursday said a body found Friday, April 24, is 22-year-old London Thomas, who 11 days earlier had jumped from the Peoria Avenue Bridge in Dixon into the Rock River as a police squad approached him.

“It is with deep sadness that we report London Thomas was located deceased,” Bivins said in a news release. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Thomas’s family. We would like to thank all involved in helping locate Mr. Thomas.”

The events that led to Thomas jumping into the river unfolded when Dixon police were called at 9:17 p.m. April 13 to Casey’s, 1401 W. Fourth St., where two individuals were causing issues and an officer approached them, Bivins said.

Officers made contact with the individuals, and after speaking with all parties involved, no enforcement action was taken at that time. It was later discovered that the men had provided false names to officers, according to the release.

Officers were called back to Casey’s at 11:23 p.m. for a report of the same two men yelling at a female, according to the release. Before the officers’ arrival, both subjects fled the scene on foot.

About 20 minutes later, a Dixon police officer located the men on foot on the Peoria Avenue Bridge. The officer made a U-turn and began to drive in the direction of the men. One man fled north. While the officer was still in his squad, the second man, later identified as Thomas, jumped off the bridge and into the river from the east side of the bridge, according to the release.

Dixon first responders were called to the Rock River near Page Park about midnight April 14, and continued search and rescue efforts until noon. Dixon City and Dixon Rural fire departments led the water search operations, with assistance from Sterling, Rock Falls, Oregon, Byron, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and a volunteer search and rescue team based near Tampico.

The operation involved a meticulous search of the river from Thomas’s last known location and extended downstream, according to a Dixon Police Department news release.

In total, seven search and rescue boats, aerial and underwater drones, sonar equipment and more than 70 personnel were utilized. Despite almost 12 hours of searching, the effort was ultimately unsuccessful. Searchers’ initial hope was that Thomas had made it to shore and had exited the river.