Fernando Casas, 19, of Stone Park, was discovered dead of a gunshot wound to the abdomen in Thatcher Woods Forest Preserve in River Forest on Monday, May 30, according to officials.
Two people walking a trail discovered Casas’ body “badly decomposed” in a bag west of Thatcher Road and south of the railroad tracks near Division Street at about 1:45 p.m. on Memorial Day, May 30, according to Sophia Ansari, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Sheriff’s Department.
Ansari said a second bag containing clothing was found at the scene.
She said the sheriff’s department searched the woods and is conducting an investigation of the death.
Neither Ansari nor Becky Schlikerman, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, could say how long the body was believed to have been in the forest preserve.
“At this time we’re calling it a death investigation,” Ansari said, but later added that foul play is suspected.
Schlikerman said Casas was pronounced dead at the scene and the manner of death was listed as a homicide. Casas’ address was listed as being in the 1800 block of North 39th Avenue in Stone Park, according to the medical examiner’s report.
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