Guitarist Bob Bielarz, who plays in Chicago nu-metal outfit No One, and his wife are believed to be among four people missing after a boat capsized in the Cal-Sag Channel near Palos Hills, Illinois, Friday night. The incident occurred after a collision with a commercial towing vessel around 11pm.
According to local outlet ABC 7 Chicago, police responded to the site where the 19-foot boat collided with the 66-foot towing vessel after they received several calls from people who heard a loud noise on the river near the Southwest Highway Canal Bridge in Palos Heights, Illinois.
“We were able to locate the barge east of the Southwest Highway, we were able to get flashlights down there and there was a small pleasure craft visible that had been capsized,” said Palos Heights Police Sgt Jeff Crowley. “Originally on scene there were no visible persons in the water.”
The guitarist’s brother Greg told ABC, “[Bob’s] a big dude, iron worker, worked out a lot, musician, artist. A lot of hope, wishful thinking, hope for the best.” He added to NBC 5 Chicago, “They go out boating every week… They know there’s barges, they know the dangers, but things happen.”
No One released one studio album through Immortal Records in 2001 at the height of the nu-metal movement. They performed as part of the Ozzfest tour that year, alongside the likes of Slipknot and System of a Down. After disbanding in 2003, they reformed in 2010 and began performing again. Fans and well-wishers have taken to social media to pay their respects to the guitarist, with one fan writing, “I saw No One at Ozzfest that year, I dug them even more than Mudvayne and Slipknot.”
Watch: No One – Chemical
