Authorities say an identity is believed to have been made after skeletal remains were found in a wooded area on the border of Beach Park and Zion last summer.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said the Zion Police Department received an anonymous tip on June 14 that human remains were in a wooded area at Sheridan Road and Wadsworth Road near the entrance of the Illinois Beach State Park.
Zion police officers searched and located the skeletal remains, Covelli said.
They notified the Lake County Sheriff’s Office because it was in their jurisdiction.
Covelli said the Lake County Coroner’s Office took possession of the remains.
Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said at the time that an autopsy conducted showed no identified skeletal injuries.
Covelli also said there were no obvious signs of trauma and foul play is not suspected.
Newton said the remains appeared to have been there for a few weeks and were located just outside of a tent.
Covelli told Lake and McHenry County Scanner in an update last week that detectives believe they have the remains identified.
“Based on evidence located at the scene, it is likely the remains discovered were those of a homeless adult man,” Covelli said.
Detectives believe they were able to locate a relative of that person and the relative has since provided a DNA sample for analysis.
A sample from the man and a sample from the possible family member were sent to the FBI laboratory for further analysis.
The sheriff’s office said they expect to receive the results sometime later this year.