A Sunrise Fire-Rescue diver pulled Doowdley Bienaime of Lauderhill out of the canal behind a home in the 1500 block of Northwest 55th Avenue about 4 p.m.
The diver found Bienaime's body at the bottom of the waterway, which authorities said was up to 15 feet deep.
Bienaime may have had an argument with two men earlier in the day, and the men chased him, likely prompting him to jump into the canal to elude them, Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman Hugh Graf said.
But Bienaime's sister, Linda, said it was unlikely her brother would voluntarily jump into the water.
"My brother, he doesn't know how to swim," Linda Bienaime said. "Why would he jump in a canal?"
One neighbor, Martha Moreau, 15, said the men chased down Bienaime, punched him and threw him in the canal.
Lauderhill police received calls around 3:30 p.m. about the incident, spokeswoman Sgt. Tundra King said. An officer who arrived at the scene saw Bienaime in the water and tried to pull him out but could not, she said.
Firefighters from Lauderhill and Sunrise arrived a short time later, and the body was recovered.
Paramedics took Bienaime's grief-stricken grandmother to a local hospital after she collapsed on the scene. She cried, "My son! My son!" after learning her grandson had died.
As other relatives arrived at the scene, a few appeared to become angry after learning what happened to Bienaime.
Albert Daley, the victim's landlord, called Bienaime a "nice neighborhood guy" who worked in a lawn-cutting business.
