A gold 2010 Toyota Prius, matching the description of the missing Round Lake Park man, was found in Mundelein crashed into a tree with a deceased man in the driver’s seat.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Grayslake Fire Department and Countryside Fire Protection District were called at 11 a.m. on Sunday to a field at 20303 West Winchester Road in unincorporated Mundelein.
Three juvenile hikers found a gold 2010 Toyota Prius crashed into a tree, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said. The female hikers believed there was a person inside the vehicle, sheriff’s officials added.
When emergency crews arrived they found the Toyota about a half mile south of Winchester Road and a third of a mile east of Route 83 in the field. Authorities confirmed that a white male was dead in the driver’s seat of the car.
The sheriff’s office said that the Toyota was driving eastbound on Winchester Road east of Route 83 when it entered the field and drove south through the field before striking a tree.
The car matches the description of the 76-year-old Round Lake Park man who went missing on March 4. Police said that Dale F. Kropke was last seen going to a medical appointment at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office said they will release the identity of the man killed in the crash after an autopsy is complete and notification is made to the family.
The crash remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit.