MARKHAM, IL (WLS/CNN) - Firefighters say they found the body of a baby wrapped in plastic after they put out the flames on a burning abandoned house. Neighbors have left stuffed animals in front of the home where the baby’s body was discovered early Monday morning.
Firefighters say the house caught fire at 6 a.m.
“I didn’t wake up until 8:30, and we saw the fire trucks and everything,” said neighbor Dianne Stahl. “My neighbor texted me about 10 o’clock, and I was like, ‘Are you serious? This can’t be happening.’”
The child’s age, gender and cause of death are now being determined by the Cook County medical examiner.
Community activist Andrew Holmes is pleading for the public’s help.
“If you know anyone that was expecting or that had a child, and you don’t see that child no longer, give the Markham Police Department a call ASAP, because this could have been prevented,” Holmes said.
Neighbors said the home’s elderly owner moved out more than a year ago and the house has been vacant and on the market.
Stahl said it is a beautiful neighborhood, but she did notice some suspicious activity over the past few days.
“Just a strange car in the last week, which police have all the information,” she said.
Some residents have expressed fear that there may be a killer on the loose, but police officers have not indicated that there is any threat to the community. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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