WCSO Press Releases

Lockport resident, Derrick Wing has been found and was returned safely to his home late last night.   The Sheriff's Office would like to thank the public, media, and police agencies for their assistance in locating Wing.

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The Sheriff's Office has been contacted and is announcing that the 9 year old,  attempt to locate,  juvenile has been found.  In the late afternoon hours yesterday, she was checked by a local law enforcement agency.   

   The Will County Sheriff’s Office is seeking help from the public in locating Raymond Martin, a Crete Township man, who was last seen on Saturday, May 22^nd.  Martin left the care of his family on foot around 7:30pm from his home that is near the E. Exchange and S. Klemme Road area.  Martin suffers from dementia and requires medication.

Mr. Martin is described as a male/white, age 63, 5’11” in height, and about 155 lbs.  He has brown hair, brown eyes, and light skin complexion.  He has a tattoo on his left upper arm that reads: “Ray” and a religious cross tattoo on his left ring finger.   Martin was last seen wearing a red flannel long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes.  He has no cell phone, cash, or bank cards with him.

It is believed that Martin was observed hitchhiking on Exchange Road between Route 394 and just across the Indiana border.  Martin is known to frequent the Matteson and south side of Chicago areas.

If you see Raymond Martin or have any information about his whereabouts, please contact 911 or Laraway Communications Center at 815-727-8575.   You may also reach out to Will County Sheriff’s Detective DeMato at 815-727-8574 ext: 4912  (cdemato@willcosheriff.org).

On 07/13/2020, at approximately 7:24 PM, Detectives with the Will County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Cecilia Avenue and Zarley Road in Unincorporated Joliet Township in reference to assisting the Joliet Police Department in locating missing person Jaheim Terry (age 18). 

While conducting a search of the area, a deceased body was discovered in an open area of an empty lot.  The body of the individual appeared to be male, but was badly decomposed.  Crime Scene Investigators (CSI) arrived and began to process the crime scene. 

Once the scene was processed, the body was removed and transported to the Will County Coroner’s Office so that an autopsy could be conducted.  The autopsy was conducted on 07/14/2020, and the deceased was positively identified through photographic identification of the fingerprints.  The Will County Coroner’s Office identified the deceased individual as Jaheim Terry who was last seen on July 7, 2020.

Members of the Joliet Police Department had been actively investigating the missing persons case since Jaheim had been reported missing.  The Will County Sheriff’s Office have been closing working with the Joliet Police Department since the discovery of now unidentified body.  The Will County Sheriff’s Office will be handling the death investigation of Jaheim Terry moving forward. 

If anyone has information in regards to this death investigation case, the Will County Sheriff’s Office is urging the public to contact Detective Jim Eiden at 815-727-8574 at extension 4921.  You can also leave anonymous tips on the Will County Sheriff’s website at www.willcosheriff.org/enforcement/submit-a-crime-tip.  You can also contact Will County Crime Stoppers by telephone at 800-323-6734, or by computer at www.crimestoppersofwillcounty.org/submit-a-tip/. 

If there are any further developments in this case, the Will County Sheriff’s Office will provide additional information when appropriate.            

Sheriff Mike Kelley and Coroner Pat O’Neil would like to announce that a year-long investigation has come to a conclusion, with the positive identification of a deceased individual discovered in Unincorporated Washington Township near Beecher, Illinois.

On 5/28/19 at approximately 8:48pm Will County Sheriff Investigators and the Will County Coroner’s Office were called to an address in Unincorporated Washington Township for a body that was found inside of a shed.  An investigation ensued in an attempt to identify the badly decomposed body.  It was determined early in the investigation that the unidentified person died of exposure and no foul play was suspected.

Due to the close proximity of horse stables and rodeos in the area, Will County Sheriff’s Office detectives believed the victim to be a local farm hand or rodeo worker that had been in the area. 

The Will County Coroner’s Office enlisted the assistance of Forensic Anthropologist Professor Cris Hughes from the University of Illinois.  Professor Hughes provided analysis that indicated the deceased was a male, had Native American features and numerous healed fractures.  These injuries are consistent with a rodeo worker.  In order to recreate facial features that might be utilized to identify the body, the Coroner’s office enlisted the help of Community Service Officer Beth Buchholtz, Department of Public Safety, Longmont County.  Beth is a trained facial/cranial reconstructionist. Working with the skull she was able to develop an image of what the person may have looked like.

Flyers in both English and Spanish were then circulated around the area farms, ranches, and local businesses.  The Coroner’s Office was soon contacted by an individual who lived in Bradley, Illinois.  This individual claimed the unidentified body may be his cousin, Reynaldo Balleza-Banda.  The description fit, and he had not heard from his cousin since February 2019.  The Will County Coroners Office then located and contacted Reynaldo’s immediate family residing in Mexico.  They indicated they had not heard from Reynaldo since late January, which is unusual.

Further investigation from the Coroner’s Office determined that DNA from the cousin in Bradley, Illinois could be used as a comparison to Reynaldo’s DNA due to the family marriage dynamics.

Detectives with the Will County Sheriff’s Office traveled to Bradley, Illinois and obtained a DNA sample from Reynaldo’s cousin.  The DNA was subsequently sent to the Northeastern Illinois Regional Crime Lab for comparison.

On 5/18/20 Will County Investigations were contacted by forensic scientist Sarah Ozanick from the Northeastern Illinois Regional Crime Lab.  Sarah confirmed that the two DNA samples analyzed indicated that the deceased subject found, and the person who provided a DNA swab were in fact closely related.  Along with several other aspects of the case, along with the DNA, it was determined that the person found almost a year earlier is that of Reynaldo Balleza-Banda.

Sheriff Mike Kelley and Coroner Pat O’Neil would like to thank all of the individuals that worked tirelessly on this investigation to identify the remains of Reynaldo Balleza-Banda, and ultimately bring closure to a grieving family.  The official cause of death is UNDETERMINED.