Body found near giraffe figurine in Lake County forest identified

A man found earlier this month in a Lake County forest preserve has been identified as Mark Beatty, a 56-year-old homeless military veteran.

Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said while DNA comparisons are still pending, he is confident the body is Beatty's.

"A large number of people have come forward, to the point where we are assured the guy who was living in that area was indeed Mark Beatty," Keller said.

Keller said he believes Beatty died about a month before his body was discovered Nov. 18 in the Greenbelt Forest Preserve near Park City.

"I don't know for sure what the cause of death was, but he was recently diagnosed with terminal (lung) cancer," Keller said. "It certainly could have been natural causes."

The body was found near a brown-and-tan giraffe figurine, clothing and remnants of a tent, Keller said.

The 14-inch figurine was one of the clues that led family members to contact the coroner's office.

Members of Beatty's family in Arizona knew he purchased the figurine at a thrift store and had planned to give it to his mother, Keller said.

Family members declined to comment on Monday.