Body Found At Illinois Beach State Park ID'd As Highwood Man

WAUKEGAN, IL — The person found dead at Illinois State Beach Park last week has been positively identified as a Highwood man who went missing earlier this month, authorities said.

Damarquis Henry, 22, was reported missing to Gurnee police on the morning of Feb. 4, according to the Lake County Coroner's Office. Henry's car was found abandoned on Feb. 9 in Hosah Park in Zion, but he was not found nearby.

On Feb. 10, Gurnee police detectives brought in search teams including dogs from the ILLWIS Search and Rescue team, according to a joint coroner's office and Gurnee police release, but they were unable to locate Henry.

The following morning, someone called 911 to report they had found a body near 21st Street and Burnett Avenue. Deputies from the Lake County Sheriff's Office arrived and called in the coroner's office, Gurnee police and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation police, according to the release.

The coroner's office conducted an autopsy Monday, and the overall investigation into Henry's death remains open.

"Further tests are pending, and as such, cause of death is not being released at this time," the joint statement said. "There is no evidence to suggest that there is any threat to the community."

Henry went missing after visiting his grandmother in Zion on Jan 28, family members told Lake & McHenry County Scanner. Henry works for Abbott Labs in Gurnee and lived with his brother in Highwood, according to his family, who said his phone indicated it was last located on Chicago's West Side.