Body found by hikers in River Forest forest preserve

The body of a 19-year-old man who had been shot to death was found by hikers Monday afternoon in a forest preserve in west suburban River Forest.

The two hikers came upon two bags just before 2 p.m. near the trail in Thatcher Woods at Thatcher Avenue and Division Street, according to Cook County sheriff’s office spokeswoman Sophia Ansari.

One of the bags contained clothing and the other had the remains of the man in an advanced state of decomposition. Ansari said the investigation was ongoing, but Cook County sheriff’s police were “leaning toward a homicide investigation.”

The man was identified as 19-year-old Fernando Casas of the 1800 block of North 39th Avenue in Stone Park, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

An autopsy found he died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office.