Skeletal remains found in Illinois forest

NILES, Ill., Nov. 23 (UPI) -- The medical examiner's office in Cook County, Ill., said it is attempting to identify the skeletal remains found inside a sleeping bag in a forest preserve.

Steve Mayberry, spokesman for the Cook County forest preserve police, said the remains were found in Bunker Hill Woods by a forest preserve maintenance crew last weekend, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.

A spokesman for the medical examiner's office said it remains unclear whether the remains are human.

The Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald said the remains were found Saturday afternoon near Niles, Ill.

Mayberry said details regarding the remains are sparse given the significant decomposition.

"It had clearly been decomposing for quite a while. I couldn't characterize it as a complete skeleton," he said.