Coroner: Body found in forest preserve is missing Gurnee man
The body found last week in a Lake County forest preserve has been identified as that of a missing Gurnee man, authorities said Wednesday.
Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd said DNA testing proved the victim was Andy Adler, 57, who disappeared after a June 8 bike ride.
Adler appears to have died from a self-inflicted gun shot wound, Rudd said, but the official cause of death remains under investigation by the Lake County Forest Preserve Ranger Police.
A geocacher looking for a hidden item using GPS coordinates found Adler's body about 7:45 p.m. on June 18 near a tree in a wooded area along the Des Plaines River at the Lake Carina Forest Preserve near Gurnee, authorities said.
Officials said a handgun was found near the body.
The discovery came about three days after a 100-person search by friends and relatives of the Gurnee man.
Police said Adler's family last saw him about 9 a.m. at his home on the village's south side. Family members had said he was going for a bike ride, but never returned.