Dead Baby Found in Illinois Recycling Center; Possible Wisconsin Link

Authorities are investigating whether an unidentified baby boy whose body was founded at a Chicago-area recycling center may have been dumped in the trash in southeastern Wisconsin.

The body was discovered Wednesday morning by employees of Resource Management Co. in Chicago Ridge, just southwest of Chicago, police said. The boy was wrapped in a blue towel inside a small cooler that was deposited on a conveyor belt.

Chicago Ridge detectives have reached out to police departments in Pleasant Prairie and Waukegan, IL — two places along the garage route taken by the truck that apparently dropped off the cooler. So far, investigators have yet to determine where exactly the child was abandoned or how he died.

“Hopefully, information will come our way,” said Chicago Ridge Cmdr. Brian Galske.

Trash was unloaded onto a conveyor belt in the facility at about 2:15 a.m., about two hours before the body was found, police said. Paramedics and the Cook County medical examiner, as well as the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Investigators, were called.

Investigators have narrowed down possible trash sources to the communities of Pleasant Prairie and Waukegan. Advanced Disposal made pickups in both communities on Monday and transferred the trash onto a truck in Kenosha, which then made its way to Chicago Ridge on Tuesday.

Police hope to know more after an autopsy on Thursday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Chicago Ridge Police Department at 708-425-7831.