Feb 22, 2008 9:38 pm US/Central
Skeletal Remains Found In Suburban Forest Preserve
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. (CBS) ―
Deep in the heart of Downers Grove forest preserve, a mystery is unraveling, as human remains buried under snow and ice have been unearthed. CBS 2's Derrick Blakely reports on how investigators are trying to crack the case.
The startling discovery was made Thursday by forestry workers clearing brush from the Lyman Woods Forest Preserve: a human body part, sticking out of a mound of ice and snow -- remains investigators believe may have been there for months.
"It appears they've been there quite awhile. There's really no soft tissue. It's just skeletal remains," said Downers Grove Deputy Police Chief Jim Black.
Working over the last two days, police and DuPage County coroner's investigators erected a tent and used kerosene heaters and electric warming blankets to melt the ice and reveal most of the remains.
The body was so badly decomposed, only autopsy results can determine the age and gender of the remains for certain. But authorities say, other clues lead them to believe the remains are those of a male.
"We have recovered some items from the scene that's consistent with what a man would possess," Black said. "So at this point, we don't feel there's any association between the Bolingbrook or Plainfield cases right now."
Meaning, investigators think there's little chance the remains are those of Bolingbrook mother Stacy Peterson, who disappeared last October or Plainfield mother Lisa Stebic, who hasn't been seen since April.
In any case, Downers Grove investigators aren't surprised that the remains have gone undiscovered so long in the heavily-used woods.
"It was a heavily wooded area and there was a lot of thick brush and foliage in the area where the body was, where the remains were discovered," Black said.
The DuPage County coroner will conduct a forensic exam of bones removed from the lot in the hope of nailing down the victim's age, race and cause of death.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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