Johannesburg - A suspected thief drowned when he jumped into the Mzintlava river near Kokstad when KwaZulu-Natal police tried to arrest him on Thursday.
"A team of detectives were searching for the suspect, who was wanted for two cases of housebreaking and theft committed in the Mount Ayliff area last month," Colonel Jay Naicker said in a statement.
They found the 25-year-old in Mphela Zone 5, Kokstad.
"When he was approached, the suspect fled and jumped into the river, where he drowned."
The police's search and rescue unit found his body after a painstaking search.
KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni said she was disappointed that he chose the easy way out, instead of facing the consequences of his actions.