Coroner Exhumes Grave In Attempt To Solve 1963 Cold Case

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL — The McHenry County Coroner's Office got court approval this past week to exhume a grave west of McHenry.

The exhumation was done to try and determine if a Black boy whose body was found in the Fox River on April 24, 1963, was buried there, according to media reports and the coroner's office news release.

"After a thorough research and exploration of all evidence of Ostend Cemetery, an area of the cemetery was identified as high probability of where the boy was buried," McHenry County Coroner Michael Rein said in a news release.

But following Tuesday's exhumation, the mystery continues. A forensic anthropologist at the scene determined the child was not in the unmarked grave.

Rein said a different individual was found in the grave.

The coroner's office and area police are continuing to investigation the case.