UPDATE 3PM FRIDAY, SEPT. 18

Aurora Police have tentatively identified the body of an adult woman who was discovered Thursday afternoon in a wooded area off Interstate 88 as a missing 54-year-old woman from Berwyn.

Based on evidence recovered so far, detectives believe the body to be that of Sandra Jefferson of the 2300 block of Gunderson, Berwyn. Jefferson was reported as missing by her family to Berwyn Police on Sept. 3. She was last seen alive the same day in Lombard.

Due to the state of decomposition of the body, positive identification will most likely be based on DNA results from today’s (Friday, Sept. 18, 2015) autopsy overseen by the Kane County coroner. The cause of death from the preliminary autopsy findings was undetermined, however, there were no signs of trauma to the body. Results from toxicology and other tests are pending.

Police are basing their tentative identification on evidence that includes Jefferson’s vehicle, a blue Nissan SUV, being recovered about 200 feet east of where her body was found and certain physical characteristics that matched those of Jefferson, some of which were confirmed by her family.

Both the body and the vehicle were located about 1:35 p.m. Thursday close to a fence line on the north side of Interstate 88, west of Deerpath Road by an IDOT mowing crew. The vehicle was found before the body, about 100 feet west of Deerpath and as the crew continued to mow, they discovered the body. The area in which the discoveries were made is on the Western fringe of the City.

There is evidence that leads investigators to believe that Jefferson entered the wooded area near Vision Court and Orchard Gateway. It is not clear when that occurred or how long Jefferson’s body may have been in the area where it was found.

The investigation is continuing and police are asking anyone who may have information to call them at 630-256-5500. They would be especially interested in any suspicious or unusual activity anyone may have witnessed that involved a blue SUV in the area of Vision Court and Orchard Gateway in the past two weeks.

ORIGNAL ARTICLE

The Kane County Coroner’s Office is conducting an autopsy today (Friday, Sept. 18, 2015) after woman’s decomposing body was discovered in a wooded area close to a fence line on the north side of Interstate 88, west of Deerpath Road.

The Aurora Police Department is continuing the investigation, which began after an abandoned vehicle and the woman’s body were discovered by an Illinois Department of Transportation  mowing crew at around 1:35 p.m. Thursday.

The vehicle was located along the same fence line and was found first by the crew about 100 yards west of Deerpath Road on the western boundaries of the city of Aurora. The woman’s body was found minutes later, an additional 200 yards west of the vehicle.

In addition to the coroner, the Illinois State Police, Kane County Sheriff’s Office and North Aurora Police assisted in the preliminary investigation.

SOURCE: Aurora Police Department press release