Man’s body found in forest preserve in Wayne

The body of a 26-year-old Round Lake man was found late Thursday morning in Pratt’s Wayne Woods Forest Preserve off Munger Road in Wayne, according to a news release from the DuPage Forest Preserve District.

Police were called to the scene at 11:48 a.m. Thursday after someone from a nearby horse stable reported finding a deceased male in the preserve, DuPage Forest Preserve District Police Chief David Pederson said.

“According to law enforcement sources the man had suspected gang affiliations and had been missing since Jan. 3,” Pederson said.

DuPage Forest Preserve Police and a department investigator arrived on the scene Thursday and found the body less than 30 feet from the side of the road and fresh tire tracks nearby. Metropolitan Emergency Response & Investigation Team crime scene and evidence technicians and the DuPage County coroner’s office were then called to the scene, the release stated.

The MERIT evidence technician and coroner’s office found the man had been shot. The MERIT major crimes unit also responded to the scene to help further investigate the incident.

The DuPage County coroner’s office is conducting an autopsy.