Crime & Safety

Bones of Missing Joliet Man Found in McHenry Marsh

Kenneth J. Kile was believed to have gone missing in May 2011 and was last seen heading to a wooded section of Cotton Creek Marsh Nature Preserve, authorities said.

Skeletal remains discovered in a McHenry County marshland have been identified as belonging to Joliet man who's been missing since May 2011.

Island Lake police speculate that Kenneth J. Kile Jr., 43, may have gone into a swampy area in Cotton Creek Marsh Nature Preserve and was unable to free himself, according to a story in the Northwest Herald.

The remains were discovered Nov. 3 and positively identified through dental and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs records, the story said. Kile was a Gulf War veteran.

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Officials had searched the area previously because Kile was last seen entering a wooded area in the preserve, but swampy conditions made it hard to explore, the story said. Now that the area has less water because of the drought, police made a second attempt and were successful.

“Finding the body has brought closure to the family,” Island Lake police Detective Barry Huedepohl told the Northwest Herald. “At no point did we give up on this case.”

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