Carjacking suspect found dead in Sauk Village

SAUK VILLAGE, Ill. -- A 19-year-old man suspected of being involved in a south suburban carjacking was found dead Thursday afternoon in a field in Sauk Village.

Christopher Smith was found dead about 2 p.m. in a marshy area of a farm field near 221st Street and Brookwood Drive, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office and Sauk Village police Chief Robert Kowalski.

He was one of two men suspected of stealing someone's wallet, phone, and car in Dolton about 2:30 a.m. Monday, Kowalski said. The victim of the carjacking tracked his phone to Sauk Village, and Dolton police alerted Sauk Village authorities to watch for the stolen car.

Sauk Village police tried to pull the car over, but it took off and led officers on a chase before crashing. Two men got out of the car and ran into the wooded area near 221st and Brookfield, Kowalski said.

One of them eventually came out and surrendered to police, but he refused to say anything about the other suspect, Kowalski said. He later was charged in Dolton, though police in that suburb could not immediately be reached for details.

It wasn't until the missing suspect's mother called Sauk Village police to find out if her son had been arrested that officers identified him, Kowalski said.

After three days of searching the wooded marshy area, police found Smith's body, authorities said. He lived in the 14400 block of Murray Avenue in Dolton.

Police did not say how he died. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire - Copyright Chicago Sun-Times 2016.)