Glen Ellyn students on school bus see body hanging from tree

Glen Ellyn School District 41 offered counseling Thursday to students who saw a body hanging from a tree along their morning bus route.

Two buses headed for Churchill Elementary and Hadley Junior High schools passed the apparent suicide victim shortly before 8:30 a.m. Thursday at Community Park in Carol Stream. Officials said the district immediately mobilized its crisis teams and contacted parents about the "terrible sight."

"Some parents chose to pick up their children and bring them home, but most stayed at school," Julie Worthen, the district's communications director, said. "Staff was made aware of the incident and alerted to the emotional state of the children."

The DuPage County coroner's office responded to the scene, just north of Geneva Road, at 8:45 a.m. The victim was a 23-year-old Carol Stream man who apparently hanged himself, officials said. No autopsy was planned.

Worthen said she did not know how many students were aboard the buses, but all of their parents were phoned individually. The district also contacted all other parents in a mass phone call, directing them to an explanation of the incident posted on its Web site.

"The kids are the important thing, making sure we do everything we can do to comfort them and make them feel safe and secure when they're at school," Worthen said.

Carol Stream police said no further information would be released until Friday.