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Manhunt Continues for Suspects in Killing of Fox Lake, Illinois, Police Officer

A small northern Illinois community remained on edge Wednesday morning as the tense manhunt continued for three suspects believed to have fatally shot a veteran police officer a day earlier.

Several school districts in the Fox Lake area cancelled classes and residents were warned to stay on high alert while helicopters scanned the marshlands and dense woods along the Wisconsin border.

Officers toting high-powered rifles and binoculars were joined by federal agents and more than 45 police dogs as the manhunt stretches into its second day.

"We're looking for suspicious activity, we're looking for the offenders and we want to let the Fox Lake community to know they're safe and we're keeping an eye out for them as well," Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesman Det. Christopher Covelli told reporters Wednesday morning.

Working on limited descriptions released to the public, the suspects are two white men and one black man believed to be armed with a pistol, police have said.

The search goes on as a community mourns 52-year-old Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, a married father of four young boys. The 30-year-veteran was gunned down while responding to "suspicious activity" before 8 a.m. local time Tuesday, authorities said.

After radioing for backup, officers found Gliniewicz's body in a marshy area; he was stripped of his weapon and pepper spray, Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesman Det. Christopher Covelli said Tuesday.

Reports: Illinois police officer's death that spurred manhunt was suicide

Investigators are expected to announce Wednesday that the September shooting death of a police officer in a quiet town north of Chicago that spurred a massive manhunt was in fact a suicide, according to multiple reports.

Fox Lake Police officer Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, whose death authorities had been treating as a homicide since he was found dead on Sept. 1, died of self-inflicted wounds, Fox 32 Chicago and WLS-TV report.

Both outlets cited anonymous sources as saying that the death would be ruled a suicide .

The Lake County Sheriff's Department said in a statement that they would announce "conclusive results of the investigation" on Wednesday morning, but declined to comment on the reports.

Investigators said at the time of Gliniewicz's death that he was patrolling in an industrial area in Fox Lake, near the Illinois-Wisconsin border, when he radioed dispatch to say that he was going to check on suspicious activity he had spotted.

He described the suspects as two white men and a black man to dispatchers. Gliniewiciz called for backup, saying he was in a foot chase, but was not heard from again.

Officers responding to his call found his body. An intense manhunt involving hundreds of law enforcement officials failed to produce any arrests or identify the suspects. Authorities viewed surveillance video from several homes and businesses in the area and had said they hoped to develop clues that would lead them to the suspects.

The manhunt disrupted train service and school in the area was cancelled on the day following the shooting as officers went about hunting for three men.

Days after Gliniewicz's death, Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd said he couldn't rule out suicide as a possible cause of the officer's death. About a month after he died, investigators said he'd been shot once in his protective vest and once in the upper left area of his torso.

But until now, investigators continued to treat the case as a homicide investigation.

Gov. Bruce Rauner and hundreds of police officers from across the nation were among thousands who paid their respects to Gliniewicz at a viewing and funeral service.

Gliniewicz had been an officer for more than 30 years and was nearing retirement at the time of his death.

Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz embezzled thousands of dollars from the town's Police Explorer program for seven years, and spent the money on such things as mortgage payments, travel expenses, gym memberships and adult websites, Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko said.

"We have determined this staged suicide was the end result of extensive criminal acts that Gliniewicz had been committing," Filenko said. He declined to provide more details about these crimes, because "the investigation strongly suggests criminal activity on the part of at least two other individuals."

the times I've agreed with you, LJ. At least those would count!

Lord Jim wrote:I still feel for his family; his wife and kids had nothing to do with this

The wife and son of a Chicago police officer who allegedly staged his own suicide are under criminal investigation in connection with the embezzlement of funds from the Fox Lake Police Explorer Program.

Charles Gliniewicz killed himself on September 1 after embezzling funds from police in the village of Fox Lake, Illinois, for seven years, officials confirmed on Wednesday.

Police are investigating whether wife Melodie and son D.J Gliniewicz had any part in the embezzling scheme.

Police are investigating whether wife Melodie and son D.J Gliniewicz had any part in the embezzling scheme.

bigskygal wrote:Husband & wife were a bit of an odd couple:




Kinda like Jack Sprat & wife, no?

... a Chicago police officer who allegedly staged his own suicide ...

I bet Gliniewicz's last act was to roil the waters even more.