Posted on by facsmiley Drew Peterson, Searches, Stacy Peterson

Human remains found in a wooded area in the Chicago suburbs

UPDATE April 23: The DuPage County coroner’s office has identified human remains found in a wooded area of Woodridge on March 30, as those of 37-year-old Scott Anthony Arcaro of Lisle, who had been missing since 2007.

UPDATE April 17: DuPage County Coroner, Richard Jorgensen, says, “We continue our investigation and do not have any further reports at this time. We have multiple experts evaluating the remains and will do our best to communicate the results when they are finalized.”

UPDATE April 10: DuPage County Coroner’s Office said new information about human remains found in Woodridge could be released later this week. DuPage County Corner Richard Jorgenson said the ongoing investigation has not yet determined whether the remains are male or female, or cause of death; only that they are human.
“We are just beginning this process and can only confirm that we believe that we have recovered human remains,” Jorgenson said.

Meanwhile a status update by Cassandra Cales on the Stacy Peterson Facebook page, would seem to indicate that the remains are not those of Stacy Peterson:

not her

****************************************************

On Saturday, March 30, while walking in a wooded area in the Chicago suburbs, two young people discovered what appear to be skeletal human remains. Although the area has been identified as the 7900 block of Lemont Road in Woodridge, Illinois, a search on Google maps identifies the town as Downer’s Grove. In any case, the area is about a 25 minute drive from Bolingbrook, where Stacy Peterson was last seen alive.

Route from the Peterson home in Bolingbrook to the Woodridge location where the remains were found

Route from the Peterson home in Bolingbrook to the Woodridge location where the remains were found

Numerous Illinois locations have been searched for the remains of Drew Peterson’s fourth wife, including the Sanitary Shipping Canal at Lockport; Shorewood, where Stacy’s cell phone pinged on the night of her disappearance; and even Peoria, reportedly searched after the ISP received what they believed to be a credible tip. Nothing was found in those searches.

Shortly after Drew Peterson was arrested in May 2009, human remains were found on the banks of the Des Plaines River and highly speculated to be those of Stacy Peterson. However, they were eventually identified as those of a young man from Woodridge named Scott Dudko.

remains-woodridge-aprilFrom photos and videos of the scene the body appears to have been removed from a shallow grave.

There has been no indication yet about the gender, but it’s being reported that a dental examination is taking place today in an attempt to determine the identity of the remains. The Woodridge Police Department is handling the investigation. The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Unit and the Felony Investigative Assistance Team are also involved.

Entry to the wooded area off Dunham Road would seem to show walking trail access. (Google maps)

Entry to the wooded area off Lemont Road would seem to show walking trail access. (Google maps)

Families and friends of missing area people, including Stacy Peterson, Lisa Stebic, John Spira and others are no doubt anxiously awaiting the identification.

Read More at:
Chicago Tribune
ABC 7
Huffington Post
Patch

57 thoughts on “Human remains found in a wooded area in the Chicago suburbs”

  1. Downer’s Grove……Downer’s Grove…..

    I know zip about any of that area. Why is that name sounding so familiar?

  2. Christie and Anthony Cales lived in Downers Grove at one point.
    Stacy Peterson was born there.
    Also Cassandra tried to file a missing person’s report at the Downer’s Grove PD the night Stacy went missing but they redirected her to the Bolingbrook PD.
    It’s a town in the area.

  4. Well, I’m hoping whoever it is, their family can finally get some answers. I just feel hesitant to jump to any conclusions at this point. I do keep going back to, DAMN IT IS SO CLOSE!

    Those poor kids. Finding a skull cannot be pleasant.

  5. Yeah, I don’t want to act as if there is only one missing person in the area and jump to conclusions, but I think I’d be remiss not to keep an eye on the news about the investigation…just in case.

    IIRC, in the case of the Des Plaines riverbank remains, the victim’s family didn’t even report him missing until he’d been gone nine months. There are missing people who don’t get the kind of media coverage that some others have received, for whatever reason.

  6. FWIW, I also read on the Daily Herald site, some comments were made that this used to be a known burial site in the 60’s and 70’s for the mafia. So who knows at this point.

    Totally agree, it is definitely worth keeping an eye on!

  7. BTW, yesterday in MCHenry County there was a no-body conviction for murder.

    More than 10 years ago, the small McHenry County community of Johnsburg was shaken by the disappearance of a teenager from a large, well-known local family.

    Since then, prosecutors have pursued four criminal cases in the presumed murder of 17-year-old Brian Carrick but had never secured a conviction.

    That changed late Tuesday when Mario Casciaro, a former co-worker of Carrick’s at the local grocery store Casciaro’s family owned, was found guilty of first-degree murder in Carrick’s presumed death — even though Carrick’s body has never been found.

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-brian-carrick-verdict-20130403,0,4742818.story

    So much for all the times “no body – no case” has been tossed out in regards to Stacy.

  8. Also, many of you will recall the case of the 18-year-old NIU student, Toni Keller, who was raped, killed and burned in the woods by William Curl.

    Trial was due to start this month but at today he is accepting a plea deal. He has plead guilty to the charge of murder and is being sentenced to 37 years in prison.

    Toni’s parents are very upset with the deal. They were ready to go for trial and really hoped for a life sentence for Curl.

    http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2013/04/03/done-deal-curl-sentenced-to-37-years-in-keller-murder/a882aqm/

    A Message yesterday from Toni’s Mother, Diane Keller:

    “we were not told of the plea bargain happening today. so when we found out it was at 1:30, Roger and i went to the courthouse. we were told that there would be no announcement until tomorrow. so we came home to plan to go tomorrow. we didn’t even get home yet and they left a message on roger’s phone that he got 37 yrs and hurried up and did the press conference before we got home. it was clear that they did not want us there. we were told we could submit a victim impact statement only if it is submitted by 10:30 am tomorrow and we were told we could not say anything to curl or any negative comments about the justice system. so he will walk someday free. the prosecutors stephanie and phil let us down. mr schmuck, you just wanted to save your reputation, get out of office. you sicken me. Toni scratched the hell out of his chest fighting to save herself. you people are a disgrace to the city of DeKalb.”

  10. DuPage County Coroner’s press release page:

    http://www.dupageco.org/coroner/news.aspx

    Monday, April 01, 2013

    Possible Human Remains, Woodridge, Illinois
    This office along with the Woodridge Police Department, are currently investigating what appears to be human remains found near the area of the 7900 block of Lemont Road. This office was contacted by the Woodridge Police Department on March 29, 2013 at approximately 2:28pm. A deputy coroner from our office along with Coroner, Dr. Richard A. Jorgensen, responded to the location and began our investigation. No further information as to gender or identification is available at this time. If you have any questions or information, please contact the Woodridge Police Department non-emergency phone number (630-719-4740).

    If you believe this incident is related to a missing person, please call the originating police department.

  12. Joel posted this on his Facebook page:

    “I was just named as one of the Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyers in the United States by The National Trial Lawyers organization.”

    First off, the NTL invites lawyers to become members of the top 100 by state – there is no national top 100.

    Secondly, what they offer you is the opportunity to pay up front for the “honor” and thereafter you must continue to pay yearly membership fees as well as extra dues to be listed by area of expertise.

    Also, if you go to their website and check out the list of “Top 100” trial lawyers for the state of Illinois, please note that over 300 lawyers are listed (including Steve Greenberg, Darryl Goldberg, and Peter Francis Geraci). 🙄

    In other words they extend this invitation to probably every trial lawyer, and those who are ready to cough up the dough are accepted!

    Yay, Joel! *golf clap*

  15. Why am I not surprised? Joel will twist anything to make himself look good.

    Good catch, Facs! This man is truly pathetic.

  17. Help Us Find Missing College Student Jim Sylvester

    Missing College Student from Crestwood Illinois, JIMMY SYLVESTER, hasn’t been seen since Wednesday night. This is unusual behavior for him, hes a senior in college months away from graduating. PLEASE post any tips/leads. Thank You.

    https://www.facebook.com/HelpUsFindMissingCollegeStudentJimSylvester?group_id=0

    ATTENTION VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR SEARCH PARTY FOR JIMMY

    Saturday, April 6th 2013 Beginning at 8am We will be meeting at the Ross/Ultra parking lot 13810 Cicero Ave. in Crestwood. You can come at anytime during the day and sign in and pick up a location that needs to be searched. Please sign up on the event page thank you for everything you are doing to help.

  19. According to someone who has been in communication with Drew Peterson, he’s not happy with his new digs.

    Although he was glad to be let out of solitary for the first time in three years he claims that the guards physically abused him.

    He has also told his confidant that if something happens to him that people need to ask questions.

    Hmmm, why does that sound so familiar? Oh right, Kathleen Savio and Stacy Peterson both said that. I’m kind of enjoying the thought that he may be living in fear just as they did.

  21. Sad news about the missing Crestwood man:

    Body of missing Crestwood man found in Arrowhead Lake

    By Wendy E. Normandy
    Special to the Tribune
    7:16 a.m. CDT, April 6, 2013

    The body of a missing Crestwood man was found in his car yesterday in Arrowhead Lake in Palos Heights, authorities said.

    The body was found this afternoon as a Honda Civic bearing the license plates of the missing man’s car was pulled from the lake near 13500 South Harlem Avenue, police said.

    The Cook County medical examiner’s office confirmed the man as James Sylvester IV, of the 5200 block of 136th Court in Crestwood, and said an autopsy was pending. Cook County sheriff’s spokeswoman Sophia Ansari said foul play was not suspected….

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-body-of-man-found-in-car-in-arrowhead-lake-20130405,0,7832667.story

  23. Drew Peterson had a pretty nice set up in Will County Jail for many years. No doubt, the new accomodations are not as nice. How ironic it is that Drew Peterson is “concerned” about his safety. Perhaps he’s feeling just a small taste of what he put his wives through.

  24. They must have the dental records of all the high profile missing in area. Lets have a statement, one way or another.

  26. I don’t recall this ever being a quick process. It seems like rather than announce exclusions they like to get a positive ID before making an update. They may have to do a bone marrow DNA analysis if the teeth don’t tell them anything.

  28. Wonder if anything can be made of the fact that these other remains found on the 3rd were so quickly determined to NOT be related to any high-profile missing person case:

    Bones believed to be human found in Lemont Township
    Police don’t see tie to any high-profile missing person

    April 03, 2008|By Tribune report

    More than a dozen bones discovered Wednesday afternoon in Lemont Township could be human remains, Cook County Forest Preserve police said.

    At about 3:30 p.m., a young man was walking in the Black Partridge Woods, near Bluff Road, when he found bones that appeared to be human, said Cook County Forest Preserve spokesman Steve Mayberry. The man’s parents informed police.

    Mayberry said the remains included about a dozen bones from the feet and other larger bones that have yet to be identified. Police were not able to find other remains in the area.

    Even though police believe the bones are human, they don’t add up to a complete skeleton and have apparently been there for more than a year, Mayberry said.

    The bones are not believed to be those of any high-profile missing persons, police said.

    Cook County sheriff’s police will investigate further.

    http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-04-03/news/0804030056_1_bones-complete-skeleton-police

  30. From Facebook:

    Sue Savio
    I had a wonderful time at the luncheon yesterday! I really met the most kindly people and felt the spirit in all of them. I enjoyed our dinner the night before talking as if I knew them all along. They are truely great friends now to me. And do miss them even now. I look forward to joining this organization! Kathleen voice will always be heard and never gone, esp since They have started a Scholarship fund name is The Kathleen Savio SYD Schorlarship Fund. I will update more as it comes to me. In the time being want to give an address where you can donate to this fund.
    Zonta Club of Kankakee
    po box 1998
    Kankakee ,ill 60901.

  31. Kankakee: Savio sister speaks to Zonta group
    April 08, 2013, 10:42 am

    While Sue Savio Doman tries to be the voice for her late sister, the Zonta Club of Kankakee also is speaking up for abused women.

    The club announced a new scholarship named in Kathleen Savio’s honor on Sunday at its annual luncheon at Hilton Garden Inn & Riverstone Conference Center in Kankakee, the same day Savio Doman was an emotional guest speaker telling the story of her sister Kathleen’s murder by her husband, former Bolingbrook cop Drew Peterson.

    “I was shocked. I was brought to tears,” said Savio Doman of the scholarship announcement. “I couldn’t believe it. This is something that I’ve always wanted to do in the beginning, but I couldn’t because I was so involved with the case, absorbing all of this … . It was something I was going to do after, and [Zonta] did it. And I’m grateful for what they did.”

    http://daily-journal.com/archives/dj/display.php?id=505979

  35. That’s cool! Thanks, Bucket:

    WOODRIDGE – While the investigation into human remains found in Woodridge last month is still ongoing, the DuPage County Coroner’s Office said new information could be released later this week.

    The coroner’s office, along with Woodridge police, are investigating human remains that were found in a wooded area along the 7900 block of Lemont Road on March 30 by two youth walking through the area.

    A spokesperson for the coroner’s office said Monday the case is still under investigation and more information could be released later this week.

  39. Just my opinion, of course, but I think being convicted of murder is official misconduct, conduct unbecoming, etc.

  40. From Facebook:

    Sue Savio
    Saw kathleens grave yesterday, there were pretty flowers on her grave. Even thou it was raining out, I placed a bunch of flowers too. She is an amazing sister,aunt,mother,friend. She touched a lot of people. And she will never be forgotten. She will make a diffrence in a Domestic Violence victim life, thru Center of Hope, Harbor House, kankakee ill .

    The Kathleen Savio Syd
    Scholarhip Fund
    Zonta International club of Kankakee il
    Po box 1998
    Kankakee ill 60901.

    Any amount will make a diffrence kathleen will always be in our Hearts !

    I don’t know what SYD means.

  44. From the ABA journal link:

    His lawyers wanted him to take a plea, and thought it would not be in Vincent Puglisi’s best interest to call a co-defendant as a defense witness in his first-degree murder trial.

    But Puglisi thought otherwise, leading to an appeal in which the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a defense lawyer, as long as he or she continues to represent the client, has the final word on what witnesses to present at trial, the Palm Beach Post reports.

    The decision represents something of an about-face from the supreme court’s ruling in a 1984 case, Blanco v. State, in which the court said the defendant could make the final decision when there was a difference of opinion with defense counsel.

    In its written opinion (PDF) about Puglisi, the court explains that a lawyer must be able to exercise professional judgment when trying a case and points out that it may be difficult for a client to understand legal issues that could weigh in favor of calling—or not calling—a witness to the stand.

    “We hold that the decision to present witnesses is not a fundamental decision resting exclusively with a criminal defendant when he or she is represented by counsel. Defense counsel must have the ultimate authority in exercising his or her client’s constitutional right to present witnesses as such is a tactical, strategic decision within counsel’s professional judgment,” the court writes. “Therefore, if a criminal defendant disagrees with his or her attorney as to whether to have a witness testify at trial, it is the defense counsel who has the ultimate authority on the matter so long as he or she continues to represent the defendant. The decision ultimately made by counsel is and must be binding on his or her client.”

    A concurring justice says that defense counsel must consult with the client about whether to call a witness and the lawyer’s decision must be “a reasonable strategic determination.”

  45. ‘Multiple Experts’ Examining Human Remains Found in Woodridge

    Multiple experts are examining human remains found by two children walking in a wooded area in Woodridge last month.
    By Melissa Sersland April 16, 2013

    Multiple experts are evaluating human remains found in Woodridge last month, according to DuPage County Coroner Richard Jorgensen

    Two children discovered the remains while walking in a wooded area near the 7900 block of Lemont Road in Woodridge March 30.

    “We continue our investigation and do not have any further reports at this time,” Jorgensen wrote in an e-mail. “We have multiple experts evaluating the remains and will do our best to communicate the results when they are finalized.”

    According to the Chicago Tribune, teeth were found and a dental examination was scheduled; a forensic “bone specialist” was also being consulted.

    “We have no leads as to who this is,” DuPage County Coroner Richard A. Jorgensen told the paper last month, adding that investigators did not know the gender of the person or the cause or manner of death.

    Patch will post more information as it becomes available.

    Downers Grove police confirmed to Patch in an e-mail that the Woodridge Police Department was handling the investigation; according to the paper, the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Unit and the Felony Investigative Assistance Team were also involved.

    The wooded area is northeast of Ide’s Grove East Park and south of the shopping center at the corner of 75th Street and Lemont Road.

  48. From Facebook:

    Sue Savio
    One more day and i get to see all the savios !! Well most so looking forward to seeing them !! As will all join to celabrate kathleen !! Kitty would be so proud of the family, she will be there in spirit, the sun will shine!!

  50. Some new events for Drew:

    04/19/2013 Credit of $1986.00 for time served applied by Finance Department.
    04/19/2013 Report of Proceedings 1-25-13 PREPARED BY COLLEEN MORIARTY
    04/19/2013 Report of Proceedings 1-10-13 PREPARED BY COLLEEN MORIARTY
    04/19/2013 Report of Proceedings 10-4-12 PREPARED BY COLLEEN MORIARTY
    04/19/2013 Report of Proceedings 8-30-12 PREPARED BY COLLEEN MORIARTY
    04/19/2013 Report of Proceedings 8-22-12 PREPARED BY COLLEEN MORRIARTY
    04/19/2013 Report of Proceedings 8-15-12 PREPARED BY COLLEEN MORRIARTY
    04/19/2013 Report of Proceedings 7-31-12 PREPARED BY COLLEEN MORRIARTY
    04/19/2013 Report of Proceedings 7-18-12 PREPARED BY COLLEEN MORRIARTY
    04/19/2013 Report of Proceedings 8-9-12 PREPARED BY CYNTHIA JARZ
    04/19/2013 Report of Proceedings 6-6-12 PREPARED BY CHRISTINA BASIS-PRINZI
    04/19/2013 Report of Proceedings 10-9-12 PREPARED BY STEVE VITHOULKAS

  57. “Snatching Defeat From The Jaws of Victory.” Somehow I think he means that they were winning the case until the last minute, when someone made a HUGE mistake that caused them to be defeated.

    I agree with Facs — I suspect he’s planning on making himself look good and Brodsky look like the idiot that he is.

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