Funeral to be held for unidentified boy

An unidentified young boy whose remains were found two years ago just outside Warrenville finally will be laid to rest next month.

"It's come time where this child needs a respectable burial," DuPage County Coroner Peter Siekmann said Friday.

The toddler will be buried at 2 p.m. Oct. 15 at Assumption Cemetery at 1S610 Winfield Road, Wheaton.

The boy, believed to be 3 or 4 and of either Hispanic or American Indian descent, was found Oct. 8, 2005, near Ferry Road and Meadow Drive in unincorporated Naperville Township. His decomposing body was in a laundry bag.

For two years, the DuPage County sheriff and coroner's offices have been investigating the boy's identity and the circumstances of his death.

The sheriff's office put out alerts across the country and chased more than 100 leads but none solid enough to reach a resolution. An autopsy could not determine the cause of death.

"Because of the lack of information available during the investigation, we've done everything we feel possible," Siekmann said. "It's taken a long time and we've exhausted all efforts."

But the investigation won't close entirely. The sheriff's office has said it will continue until it has answers.

Siekmann said in his 31 years on the job he has never seen a case quite like this in DuPage.

"It's something that doesn't happen here," he said. "With a little boy, you expect in due time a neighbor to say they haven't seen little Johnny or little Billy, but no one ever did. It's really amazing."

The Diocese of Joliet has donated a cemetery plot for the boy. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the DuPage County Funeral Directors Association.