Police identify man found dead in Schaumburg pond earlier this month

Schaumburg police Monday were able to use DNA to positively identify a man found dead in a village pond on the afternoon of April 3.

Peter Van Ellis was 59 years old and unhoused at the time of his death, Commander Christy Lindhurst said.

His cause and manner of death still await the results of toxicology tests likely to take a few more weeks at the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Schaumburg police had been in contact with members of Ellis’ family, Lindhurst said. But more tests were needed to confirm his identity.

Workers cleaning the pond at the intersection of Algonquin Road and Parkside Drive notified authorities at about 2 p.m. April 3 that something resembling a human body was in the water.

The body was recovered, but the only description authorities could provide at the time was it was a man wearing a dark-colored hooded coat.