NEWS RELEASE

RIVERSIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT

31 Riverside Road, Riverside, IL 60546

12 December 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Chief Weitzel tweitzel@riverside.il.us

708.447.2127 - Follow RPD on Twitter @pdriverside

Bone Found Along the Des Plaines River in Riverside Not Human
On Monday, November 3, 2014 at 12:48 p.m., a Lyons resident walking along the river on
the Riverside side of the Des Plaines River just west of the Barrypoint Bridge retrieved what
he thought to be a human bone lying along the riverbank. The Riverside Police
Departments evidence technicians and detective went to the location and processed the
scene, took photos, and collected the bone as evidence. On November 6, 2014 after
preparing and processing the bone, it was submitted to the Cook County medical examiner's
office for examination. Riverside investigators submitted their case report and the bone by
personally taking the bone to the medical examiner's intake office in Chicago.
On Friday, December 12, 2014, the Riverside Police Department was notified by the Cook
County medical examiner's office that the bone was not human. At this point, the origin of
the bone is still under investigation but the medical examiner's office has determined
positively that the bone is not human. The medical examiner's office will keep the bone for
up to one year before possible additional testing to actually determine what type of animal
the bone came from.
Riverside Police have closed their case and no further investigation will be attempted.