Investigation continues into body found in burned car at Morton Arboretum

Authorities remained tight-lipped Thursday about their investigation into a person found dead inside a burned-out vehicle Wednesday at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.

The DuPage County fire investigation task force is probing the cause of the fire, which was reported by an arboretum visitor at 12:44 p.m., the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District said in a news release.

Firefighters arrived 13 minutes later to find the vehicle fully engulfed in flames in a remote parking area on the far east side of the arboretum's 1,700-acre grounds.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze in 10 minutes and found the badly burned body inside the vehicle immediately after the fire was put out.

The DuPage County coroner's office conducted an autopsy Thursday. Preliminary findings were not immediately available, nor was the identity of the deceased.

The DuPage County sheriff's office did not release any new information about its investigation.

The arboretum, located along Route 53 north of I-88 in an unincorporated area near Lisle, closed roads and walking paths in some areas on the east side of the property during Wednesday's investigation. But a spokeswoman said the entire outdoor museum was open as usual on Thursday.