A 16-year-old Manhattan, Illinois boy died early Sunday after falling roughly 100 feet inside an abandoned rock quarry building near the Old Joliet Prison, according to Joliet police. The victim was identified by his family and community as Anthony “Tony” Reed Jr., a sophomore at Lincoln-Way West High School.
Joliet police received a call around 12:58 a.m. Sunday reporting that a person had fallen from a structure on vacant industrial land near Louise Ray Parkway east of Collins Street, according to CBS Chicago. Officers arrived to find the teen critically injured, and the Joliet Fire Department began lifesaving efforts before the Will County Coroner's Office pronounced him dead at the scene. As reported by Patch, Reed had previously attended Manhattan District 114 elementary schools before moving on to Lincoln-Way West.
Group of Five Explored Upper Levels Before Fall
Joliet Police Department spokesman Sgt. Dwayne English said preliminary findings indicate Reed and four other boys entered the abandoned rock quarry building to explore the property, eventually reaching an upper part of the structure, per the station's report. Reed then fell through an internal opening in the building, according to the same account from Shaw Local. The four other boys who were with him were taken to the Joliet Police Department, interviewed, and released to their parents; police have not announced any charges or citations in connection with the fall.
The Will County Coroner's Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the official cause and manner of death, a finding that remains pending. The property where the fall occurred sits east of Collins Street directly across from the Old Joliet Prison museum, on land tied to the footprint of the former Joliet Correctional Center.
A Site With a History of Safety Concerns
The 135-acre parcel containing quarry structures and lakes is owned by the State of Illinois and leased by the City of Joliet, according to Shaw Local's earlier reporting. Nearly a year before Reed's death, in October 2025, local residents and community organizers held a public meeting about the property after raising concerns over illegal dumping, fires, and unmonitored after-dark trespassing. City committee agreements had previously prohibited access to the site after dark, the outlet noted.
Entering an unoccupied building or unauthorized private property in Illinois can constitute criminal trespass under state law, a Class B misdemeanor that can rise to a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail, per the Illinois Compiled Statutes. No charges have been announced in this case.
National Data Shows Quarry Falls Are a Recurring Danger
The tragedy fits a pattern documented nationally by the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration, whose “Stay Out – Stay Alive” campaign found nearly 300 recreational trespassers died at active and abandoned mine and quarry properties over a ten-year period, with roughly half of those victims between ages 15 and 25. MSHA advisories warn that abandoned quarry buildings pose extreme structural hazards, including weak floorboards, unsealed internal shafts, fragile elevated walkways, and hidden vertical drops that are difficult to see in the dark. Federal health researchers have separately cautioned that the broader trend of “urban exploration” in vacant industrial complexes carries risks of structural collapse and delayed rescue access, since young people often navigate elevated platforms for recreation or social media.
Community Rallies Around Reed's Family
Within 24 hours of the news spreading, an online fundraiser for Reed's family had raised more than $16,000 to help cover funeral expenses, Patch reported. The outlet noted that the Manhattan community had already endured other sudden youth deaths in the past year, deepening the grief surrounding Reed's death.
The fall near Louise Ray Parkway is the latest reminder of unresolved questions about the state-owned quarry property, which has drawn scrutiny before over its quarry regulatory oversight. Whether the city or state will move to add fencing, signage, or security patrols to the site remains unclear, as does the coroner's final determination on Reed's cause and manner of death.
