Remains found near Des Plaines River

A cleanup crew on a barge on the Des Plaines River near Channahon discovered unidentified human remains on the river's shore around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Illinois State Police Sgt. Matt Burek.

The remains were removed around 7:30 p.m. and taken to the Will County coroner's office, where an autopsy will be performed Thursday morning.

Burek would not comment on the sex of the body. "It's way too early for that," he said.

He also would not comment on the state of decomposition of the body, and whether the remains were wrapped or contained in anything.

The cleanup crew does maintenance work along the river, but Burek did not know what agency it works for.

Police told ABC 7 it's too early to say whether the body found is that of Lisa Stebic of Plainfield or Stacy Peterson of Bolingbrook, two missing Will County women who disappeared in 2007 and whose cases have garnered national attention..

Peterson's husband, Drew Peterson, is scheduled to appear in court Thursday on charges he killed his third wife, Kathleen Savio, in 2004.

Savio's death, originally ruled an accidental drowning, was reclassified as a homicide after her body was exhumed and an autopsy conducted following Stacy Peterson's disappearance in October 2007.

Drew Peterson, being held at the Will County Jail on $20 million bail, has maintained he believes Stacy Peterson left him for another man and is most likely living outside Illinois.

Stebic, a mother of two, was last seen in Plainfield in April 2007. Authorities have named Stebic's husband Craig a "person of interest" in her disappearance but he is not charged with any crime. He has denied any involvement.

Bolingbrook is about 24 miles north of Channahon, Plainfield 15 miles.

Associated Press contributed to this report.