Police Ask For Help Identifying Remains Found in Park Lagoon

The remains, including a severed head, were found by a contractor working nearby last week

Police are asking for help to identify human remains, including a severed head, that were discovered Friday morning in a lagoon in McKinley Park on Chicago's Southwest Side, police said in a community alert Wednesday night.

Police included sketches in the alert asking for assistance from the public in identifying the remains.

Police said the victim is black and between 15 and 25 years old. The gender was not immediately known, police said.

Workers draining the lagoon for maintenance found a bag floating in the water around 10 a.m. last Friday, police said. One of the workers opened it up and found the head.

A death investigation is underway, Supt. Eddie Johnson said at the time. The head, Johnson said, is likely to be that of a black man.

The head and other body parts were found in the lagoon, Johnson said, noting the other parts have been sent to the Medical Examiner's Office.

"It is still an ongoing investigation," Johnson said Friday.

Nancy Taylor and her grandkids spend a lot of time at the lagoon.

"We used to come over here and feed the ducks and fish," she said. "It's scary."

Some residents say they doubt the person died in the park.

"I'm still going to come, I don't think they killed the people in the park," said Samantha McLain. "I think they brought them here to dump them."

The remains were taken to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. Area South detectives were investigating.

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