Unidentified Body Found Near Jefferson Street: Sheriff

JOLIET, IL - The Will County Sheriff's Department said that autopsy will take place on Tuesday surrounding the discovery of a human body in a wooded area near Jefferson Street and Eden Lane. The body was removed and taken away by the Will County Coroner's Office. However, sheriff's officials said "it is unclear what the gender, race, or age of the (person) is. We will update this information and any other appropriate information, after the autopsy is completed today."

Original story below:

The Will County Sheriff's Department said Monday morning's discovery of a dead body near the Woodlawn Memorial Park is being treated as a suspicious death. Deputy Chief of Special Operations/Investigations Dan Jungles told Patch he expects crime scene investigators and detectives will remain at the site late into the night.

"At approximately 9 a.m., a hunter discovered the body of a deceased individual. The body was located approximately 500 feet from the roadway in the wooded area. The Will County Sheriff’s Office is seeking help from the public in trying to identify any suspicious behaviors observed in this area occurring within the last 36 hours," a press release from the Will County Sheriff's Office announced.

Jungles told Joliet Patch that the body was found about a quarter mile north of West Jefferson Street. There's a private drive off Jefferson Street that leads into the property near the Woodlawn Cemetery.

"They're still out there processing the scene. It's fairly large area, a heavily wooded area," he said.

As of around 4 p.m. the body had not been removed from the site.

Jungles said that if anybody saw anything suspicious in the area over the past couple of days, they should reach out to the Will County Sheriff's Department with their information. The Sheriff’s Investigation Division can be reached at 815-727-8574.

On Monday, there were several crime scene investigators and detectives searching for clues near the Woodlawn Memorial Park property after a dead body was found on Monday morning. As of noon, sheriff's officials classified the case as an unknown death investigation, but indicated more details were likely to be forthcoming later in the day.

Authorities were notified of the body around 9 a.m. Several of Will County's crime scene investigators were called to the site, which was a wooded area just off West Jefferson Street, between Essington and Houbolt Roads.

For about 45 minutes in the afternoon, Jungles said, the sheriff's department shut down all four lanes of traffic on Jefferson between Essington and Houbolt to give them the ability to canvass the street areas for additional clues. Traffic has since reopened, he said, however, westbound traffic on Jefferson Street is down to one lane because of all the police vehicles parked along the road.

FOLLOW UP STORY: Sheriff Announces Body Found Was Crime Victim

Images via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor