A crook got more than he bargained for when he stole a funeral home van in Illinois – complete with a body in tow – before separately ditching the car and dumping the corpse over 100 miles away in a Chicago alley.
The vehicle, which had initially contained the body of an unidentified man in the back, was stolen from Collins & Stone Funeral Home in Rockford on Saturday afternoon. That man’s name has not yet been released as of Tuesday.
The next day, last Monday, the van turned up in Chicago however by that time the corpse inside had already gone missing, according to a tweet by the Rockford Police Department.
**ALERT** A van from a local funeral home was stolen yesterday with a deceased adult inside and it fled the area immediately. The van was just located in Chicago. We are continuing our investigation at this time and any further updates will be posted here.
— Rockford PD (@RockfordPD) January 23, 2023
Body Wasn’t Found Until About A Week After Stolen Van Was Located In South Chicago
It wasn’t until about a week later that “the body of the deceased man from the stolen van was located” in South Chicago, roughly a two-hour, 104 mile drive from where it was stolen.
Authorities say an anonymous 911 call alerted law enforcement to the body, which had been dumped in a back alley behind a block of abandoned homes, CBS News Chicago reports.
The body was uncovered, leading police to believe the corpse had been removed from the body bag it had been in prior to ditching it.
Van stolen from Rockford funeral home found in Chicago; body missing https://t.co/b8ZwN1VkSG pic.twitter.com/6qB2c0PNbd
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) January 23, 2023
“The heck — they gone stole a body?” one shocked neighbor told the outlet, adding she felt “sorry” for the family of the dead man.
Authorities Seek Suspect, Motive But No Arrests As Of Tuesday
It remains unknown how the funeral home van was stolen in the first place, and whether or not the carjacker know a body would be in the back of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, Rockford police released images of a possible suspect, who was last seen in hoodie and all black clothing apart from white gloves.
No arrests have been made as of Tuesday, with an investigation into the crime ongoing.
