Unburied human remains were found Tuesday in a field near Oakwood Drive and Townline Road near Mokena, and officers finished searching the area around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Will County sheriff’s office.
The remains have not been identified, said Elizabeth Matthews, public information officer for sheriff’s office. She said Wednesday afternoon that the Will County coroner’s office is leading the investigation now that the search has concluded.
Land surveyors found what appeared to be a human skull when working in the field for property developers Wednesday, Matthews said.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to the field at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and found additional bones scattered, Matthews said.
The recovered bones were turned over to the coroner’s office for processing and data checking of missing persons cases, according to Matthews.
A few Oakwood Drive residents said Wednesday the traffic and commotion prompted by the investigation is unusual for their quiet, safe neighborhood.
Katherine Ryan, a nearby resident, said her neighborhood felt crowded Wednesday, with a long line of police cars on Townline Road, neighbors watching the investigation and even a loud helicopter that morning.
She said the area usually felt quiet and safe and that her husband goes for runs on a trail near the field.
So she said she was surprised, sad and creeped out to learn from the sheriff’s office that human remains were found so close to her home.
Ryan said she hoped the remains could help bring answers for a missing persons case.
She said she also was relieved police did not block her road and said had not experienced any issues getting in and out of her neighborhood.
Ron Nagel, who has lived near the intersection for more than 20 years, said Wednesday afternoon he had not heard human remains were found close to his house. He said he would like to know how old they were.
Nagel also said the field was previously a small farm with corn fields and said the intersection was usually “absolutely quiet with no traffic.”
Mokena Community Development Director Brent Cann said surveyors found the remains while conducting a wetland survey of the property for developer Shawn O’Malley with O’malley Builders LLC.
O’Malley proposed to build 80 single-family homes on the 60 acre property located at 19924 S. Townline Road at the March 9 village workshop meeting, according to Cann.
Cann said the sale of the property has not been fully closed.
Village Administrator John Tomasoski said the Village Board and mayor previously rejected several proposals to build single-family homes on the property because they felt developers wanted to build too many houses for the size of the land.
But he said O’Malley’s proposal is more reasonable.
Matthews said more than two dozens officers from the criminal investigations, crime scene investigation and Will County Emergency Management Agency search and rescue completed the search Wednesday.
She advised area residents to be cautious of traffic due to the increased number of law enforcement vehicles at the Oakwood Drive and Townline Road intersection for the search.
“This is why we’re here because people get curious,” she said.
awright@chicagotribune.com
