2 burned bodies found in car trunk in Cook County

PALOS PARK — The Cook County medical examiner says two people whose burned bodies were found in a vehicle were strangled.

Firefighters called to the scene of a car fire late Saturday in a suburban Cook County forest preserve.

Cook County Sheriff's office spokesman Ben Breit says the bodies found in the PT Cruiser's trunk were burned, and the victims declared dead at the scene late Saturday night in Cap Sauers Holdings Nature Preserve in Palos Heights.

Breit says sheriff's police used canine units and helicopters to scan the surrounding woods, but no other remains were found.

The identities of the victims were not released.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that authorities have been unable to determine the gender, age or race of either person.