Burned body found in car in Elk Grove village

A body was found burned almost beyond recognition Saturday morning in a car at an office-building parking lot in Elk Grove Village.

"We don't even know if it's a man or a woman. It's burned pretty bad," said a spokeswoman in the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. "We won't have an ID on that body for a couple of days."

Elk Grove Village police and firefighters were called to the scene at 2:53 a.m., according to detective Sgt. Michael Gaspari.

The car, a tan 2004 Mercury Sable four-door sedan, was found engulfed in flames in a back parking lot at 141 Northwest Point Blvd.

It was not in a proper parking space, but was stopped in the middle of the lot, and the blaze burned out the car windows.

When the fire was extinguished, "human remains" were found in the cabin.

Gaspari said he could not disclose the name of the car's owner or whether an accelerant was used to set the fire.

He also declined to label it a murder or even suicide. "Our investigation is ongoing," he said. "Right now we're classifying it as a death investigation."

The Major Case Assistance Team, the state fire marshal and Rosemont police were also investigating. Gaspari asked that anyone with information call the department at (847) 357-4100.