Officials confirmed that the missing Round Lake Park man was the one found dead after he crashed his car into a tree in unincorporated Mundelein.
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 on Monday that 76-year-old missing Round Lake Park man Dale F. Kropke was found dead in the driver’s seat.
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.
Kropke went missing on March 4 from Round Lake Park, police said. He was last seen going to a medical appointment at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
An autopsy performed Monday on Kropke showed that he died from multiple traumatic injuries due to the crash. Authorities have not said what caused the crash yet. Toxicology testing is pending.
The incident remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Technical Crash Investigations Unit.