Coroner IDs Teen Found Dead Near Railroad Tracks in Vernon Hills

VERNON HILLS, IL – The Lake County Coroner’s Office has identified the 15-year-old boy whose body was found near railroad tracks in Vernon Hills as Daniel Stein, police said. A Canadian National railway employee on a passing train spotted the body lying near the railroad tracks at about 3:50 p.m. on Dec. 26 and called police, according to a news release from the police department. Police found the teen’s body on the west side of the tracks, which are adjacent to Westwood Park near Sullivan Drive and Basswood Court in Vernon Hills.

Lake County Coroner Howard Cooper said preliminary autopsy results show Stein, of Vernon Hills, died from blunt force trauma. Toxicology is pending.

Foul play is not believed to be a factor in the death, police said.

Vernon Hills police were assisted at the scene by the Metra Police Department, the Canadian National Railway Police Department, the Lake County Coroner’s Office and the Countryside Fire Protection District.

The death remains under investigation.

PHOTO VIA SHUTTERSTOCK