An elderly woman has been found dead after she was missing following a fire at a duplex home that resulted in significant damage in Mundelein Sunday evening.
The Mundelein Police Department and Mundelein Fire Department responded around 5:24 p.m. Sunday to the 1200 block of Huntington Drive for a report of a structure fire.
Fire crews arrived to find smoke showing from all sides of a two-story duplex home.
An elderly woman was reported to be unaccounted for and firefighters were unable to fully search the home initially due to the damage.
Flames and smoke could be seen coming from the second floor of one of the two units.
The Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) was activated to bring additional fire department resources to the scene.
Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said the elderly female occupant of the home was later located deceased.
She was reported to have been found in her bed.
The woman’s identity has not been positively made yet and it could take a couple of days to make the identification, Newton said.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office was performing an autopsy Monday morning on the woman.
Well over a dozen fire investigators were called to the scene from numerous fire departments, along with the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal.
Fire officials have not yet said what may have caused the fire.