Decomposed — possibly human — remains found on banks of Des Plaines River near Laraway Road: cops

Emergency light

Workers at a Laraway Road bulk liquid storage facility found what appeared to be human remains on the banks of the Des Plaines River on Tuesday morning.

The workers at Zenith Energy Terminals found the remains about 8:30 a.m. and called 911, according to a statement released by the Joliet Police Department.

“Upon arrival, officers determined that the remains appeared to be in an advanced state of decomposition,” police said. “Evidence found at the scene suggests that the remains may possibly be of human origin.”

The Will County Coroner’s Office was called in to collect the remains, according to police. More than five hours after the remains were found, the coroner’s office had yet to provide any information on the matter.

Zenith Energy is on Laraway Road between Brandon and Patterson roads.

Skeletal remains were found less than a mile and a half away on Patterson Road in February.

A wooded area north of the 700 block of Patterson Road in Joliet Township seen on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. On Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, three men discovered human remains in the area.

Joseph Swan said he and his two brothers-in-law, Maximo Caballero and Ted Christie, made the discovery while walking in the woods behind Swan’s residence off Patterson Road.

“Members of the Will County Sheriff’s Office located additional bones and other items of evidentiary value,” police said at the time.

Almost a month later, the remains were identified through dental records as those of Pamela Ann Vincent, a 38-year-old Joliet woman who was last seen in August 2015.

Pamela Ann Vincent