Homicide investigation under way after body found near Joliet

Police are conducting a homicide investigation after a body was found in a ditch near southwest suburban Joliet on Wednesday.

A citizen discovered the body of a black female in a field near Zurich and Brandon roads in unincorporated Joliet Township, according to the Will County sheriff’s and coroner’s office.

Sheriff’s police are investigating the death as a homicide, but a preliminary cause of death was not released by the coroner’s office. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.

The person’s name and age remained unknown as of Thursday morning as investigators used fingerprints to try to make a positive identification and notify family, authorities said.

The death is considered suspicious, according to the sheriff’s office. Anyone who may have seen or heard anything in the area is asked to call the sheriff’s office at (815) 727-8574.