Skeletal Remains Found In Forest Preserve: Case In 'Beginning Phases'

COOK COUNTY, IL — The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office has begun the process of identifying human bones discovered last month in a Chicago-area forest preserve.

Natalia Derevyanna, director of communications for the medical examiner's office, said an anthropology consult will be performed on the remains, which were found at Baker's Lake Forest Preserve in Barrington in February. The consult could help investigators determine the individual’s sex, and possibly provide information on race and other demographic characteristics.

• Skeletal Remains Found At Forest Preserve Likely 'Not From Recent Death,' Officials Say

The bones were located around 2:25 p.m. on Feb. 14 in a wooded area, according to Carl Vogel, director of communications for the Forest Preserves of Cook County. Authorities do not believe the remains are from a recent death.

Officials said any dental evidence or DNA collected from the bones will be sent to labs for analysis and entered into missing-person databases. Clothing or personal items found near the remains would also be cataloged, though Derevyanna could not confirm whether any such items were present.

She added that these investigations can take months or even years to produce results. Forest Preserves police, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the Medical Examiner’s Office were all on site as part of the ongoing investigation, during which the preserve was temporarily close

Forest Preserves police, who are leading the case, said there is no indication of danger to the public related to the discovery.