April 19, 2024
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Dog walker finds skeletal remains of missing Frankfort Township man

Will County Sherriff’s Office deputies also found a bicycle that matched the description of Padilla’s bicycle.

By Denise M. Baran-Unland
Luis Padilla

Luis Padilla (Photo courtesy of the Will County Sheriff's Office)

A Frankfort Township man who was reported missing Nov. 15 by his family was found dead by a resident walking his dog.

The dead man was Luis Padilla, 55, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

At 11:38 a.m. Thursday, Will County Sheriff’s Office deputies went to the 21300 Block of River Road in Frankfort Township after receiving a report of a found body, according to sheriff’s office.

A resident was walking his dog near the intersection of West Woodvale Road and South River Road when the dog got loose from the leash and then ran into the woods, according to the sheriff’s office.

The resident followed the dog into a heavily wooded area near the roadway. The dog led the resident to skeletal remains, which were scattered because of animal activity, according to the sherriff’s office.

Deputies also found a bicycle that matched the description of Padilla’s bicycle. Animal activity had scattered the skeletal remains over a large area, according to the sheriff’s office.

Personnel from the Will County Coroner’s Office and detectives and Crime Scene Investigators from the sheriff’s office responded to the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.

The sheriff’s office determined Padilla’s identity by his clothing recovered at the scene and by Padilla’s wallet with identification, which was located nearby, according to the sheriff’s office.

Padilla’s remains were several miles from his home. The remains were not along his usual bike route, according to sheriff’s office.

Padilla’s family reported Padilla missing Nov. 15. Police searched the area with search crews and K9s the next day, according to the sheriff’s office.

Numerous law enforcement agencies and search and rescue partners assisted the several month’s long investigation of Padilla’s disappearance, according to the sheriff’s office.

Padilla’s skeletal remains were turned over to the Will County Coroner’s Office, where an autopsy can be conducted to determine Padilla’s cause and manner of death.