Seven years after an unidentified boy was found dead in a laundry bag in Naperville Township, officials have publicly identified him as Atcel Olmedo, with a DNA test having confirmed his identity, according to a CBS report.
In October 2005, Atcel's body was found in unincorporated Naperville inside a blue canvas laundry bag. He was referred to as a "DuPage County Johnny Doe," according to the DuPage County Coroner's Office, and his gravestone in Wheaton Assumption Cemetery read: "Son. Unknown. But Not Forgotten," according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Tribune reported in 2008, detectives saw a possible connection in Atcel's death to a child abuse case.
Naperville Patch reported in February 2011:
A 14-year-old girl held the key to the mystery of the boy found in a field in DuPage County in 2005. According to a story in the Chicago Tribune, the boy's name was Atcel and he was almost 3 years old.
The Tribune story said the girl revealed to a social worker at Unity Junior High School in Cicero that her stepfatherhad kicked her with his steel work boots and slapped and whipped her with a belt "almost every other day," according to a state agency report.
Then the girl shared an even darker secret. She said her little brother was missing and that her grandmother told her the same man had killed him, according to state and federal records that detailed the April 2008 conversation.
Atcel's cause of death remains undetermined. Meanwhile, his parents have not been found and are believed to be in Mexico, according to CBS.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or the DuPage County Sheriff's Office. There is an $11,000 reward in his case.
READ MORE:
- February 2011: Boy Known As Johnny Doe Identified
- October 2010: Sheriff Says Local Boy Is Not Forgotten