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Woman's Body Found in Woods Southwest of Bloomington

Police cars in the forest
Ryan Denham
/
WGLT
McLean County sheriff's police near where a body was found Sunday night.

Authorities are investigating after a woman's body was found Sunday night by two people walking a nature trail northeast of McLean. Police called her death "suspicious."

Authorities were notified around 6:25 p.m. that the body of a middle-aged white female had been found by two people walking their dog on the trail at the Funks Grove Nature Preserve.

The body was found about a quarter-mile south of McLean County roads 725 East and 535 North. The Sugar Grove Nature Center and Funks Grove Cemetery are both nearby.

McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage remained on scene after 9:30 p.m. Coroner Kathleen Davis was also on scene, as were Illinois State Police crime scene experts called in to assist.

Sandage declined comment on the state of the body. As a representative from Sugar Grove and the cemetery arrived on scene around 9:30 p.m., the sheriff asked her if there were any cameras on nearby properties and if footage might be available.

Sandage said there were no indications that the body was connected to missing University of Illinois scholar Yingying Zhang. Her body has not yet been found.

Anyone with information related to the discovered body is asked to contact Detective Cory Beverlin with the McLean County sheriff's office at (309) 888-5048.

In a Facebook post late Sunday, the Sugar Grove Nature Center said it would be closed until Wednesday, July 5.

"All Sugar Grove Nature Center buildings, trails, Imagination Grove, and Nature Center properties will be closed to public access until dawn on July 5. This includes all property and trails that extend to the Funks Grove Church and Cemetery," the post said.

Ryan Denham is the digital content director for WGLT.
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