May 20, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- An autopsy is planned Thursday morning on human remains found along the Des Plaines River in rural Channahon.
The remains are believed to be that of a female, which has led to speculation that the body may be one of two high-profile missing persons cases- Stacy Peterson or Lisa Stebic.
Searches for both missing women, Peterson of Bolingbrook and Stebic of Plainfield, have taken place near where the remains were found on Wednesday.
The remains are badly decomposed, according to officials. The autopsy is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the Will County Coroner's Office in Joliet. Officials are also working to ID the body; they are comparing dental record and conducting DNA tests.
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"We're not identifying whether or not it's male or female. It would be very premature to do that. Nor are we making an attempt to associate with any current investigation. We would be very premature to do that," said Master Sgt. Tom Burek, Illinois State Police.
The families of Peterson and Stebic are following the developments closely.
"It's pretty much quiet anticipation but we've been through this situation before so we've learned not to be too anxious about the situation," said Pam Bosco, Peterson family spokesman.
"The not knowing is what's worse. And frankly it would be such a relief if it was Lisa, just to know that we could put her to rest," said Melanie Greenberg, Lisa Stebic's cousin.
There is no timeline as to when the autopsy will be complete, but due to the high profile cases, it should be sooner than later.
The Discovery
The badly decomposed body was discovered by a river cleanup crew on Wednesday afternoon. They called police and moments later dozens of investigators converged on the scene and began scouring for clues near the remains.
"They said they would switch their effort to shoreline efforts on the floor. They did and here we are four days later and they found something. Hopefully someone's family can get some closure here," said the owner of a nearby river bar.
The Blue Barrel
A blue barrel was spotted Sunday along the Des Plaines River just about a mile downstream from the remains.
It is not clear if that blue barrel has anything to do with the remains, but the discovery comes into play because the stepbrother of Drew Peterson- who is a person of interest in the disappearance of his wife, Stacy- said he helped Drew remove a blue barrel from the family's Bolingbrook home after Stacy disappeared. He has told police he fears Stacy's body was inside.
"A blue barrel in a river around here is kind of something I would think people would want to know about, especially the police," said Michelle Williams, who saw the blue barrel and called officials.
The state police have searched for and found blue barrels on several different occasions, but none has actually been linked to the case
