Man Found Dead Along Fox River Trail
BATAVIA, Ill. (STMW) Police said they are considering the death of a man found near a hiking trail along the Fox River Monday in west suburban Batavia to be suspicious.
Police said the man, identified only as a 46-year-old white male, suffered injuries. But the cause of the injuries is unknown. An autopsy is pending by the Kane County coroner, police said.
Batavia police Deputy Chief Glenn Autenrieth said officers were dispatched to the scene at 11:23 a.m. by a passerby on the bike path, east of the 500 block of Route 31. The man was found unconscious and not breathing, police said.
"The body was along the shoreline," Autenrieth said.
"Any time somebody dies in the public way we will consider it suspicious until we receive medical examiner reports from the coroner's office on the cause of death," he said.
Autenrieth said they recovered a bicycle at the scene, but have not confirmed it was the man's bike.
Batavia Fire Department divers were sent to ensure there was "no potential evidence in the river or along the river bank," Autenrieth said.
He added that no weapon was found on the scene.
Besides Batavia police and the coroner's office, an Aurora forensics van was dispatched to the scene to assist.
About one mile of the Fox River Trail along the river, from Fabyan Parkway to Houston Street, was closed for about four hours Monday while police investigated.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
