Sept. 09--A sketch artist is working with Chicago police investigating the dismemberment of a child to create a drawing that can be used to identify the child, authorities said Wednesday.
So far the head, feet and hands of the child have been recovered from the Garfield Park Lagoon, but authorities say they are badly decomposed. Police are still searching for the torso and have begun draining the west side of the lagoon.
Investigators said a sketch artist from the Cook County sheriff's department will examine the head in hopes of coming up with a drawing that can be circulated to the public.
Police had little new to say about the case during a news conference at the West Side park shortly after noon.
Kevin Duffin, commander of Area North detectives, said investigators believe the child was in the water about one to two weeks before the remains were discovered over the weekend.
Officials said the west side of the lagoon has receded about 6 feet since draining began late Tuesday.
Bill Bresmahan, managing deputy commissioner of the Water Department, said three pumps are draining about 350 gallons per minute into nearby sewer grates, while another is dumping water back into the east lagoon.
A temporary steel dam is splitting the narrow channel that connects the two lagoons under the Central Park Avenue bridge.
The police marine unit spent three days conducting grid searches in the murky green water, dredging up debris in their search for evidence. Wearing sealed rubber suits in sweltering heat, they searched on their "hands and knees, touching, feeling everything," said the department's deputy chief of special functions, Steve Georgas.
About 100 officers, detectives and divers are working the case, according to Anthony Guglielmi, a department spokesman.
"To hack up a kid like this, it's just unimaginable," he said. "There's somebody out there that knows what happened to this child."
Police began knocking on doors around Garfield Park and passing out fliers Wednesday morning, according to Chief of Detectives John Escalante.
Officials say the body was likely that of an African-American boy between 8 months and 4 years of age. But they cautioned that a "mixed race heritage" and the possibility the body is that of a girl cannot be ruled out. And the age could be closer to 2 to 3 years old.
Authorities said they were testing DNA samples taken from the remains and were checking for dental records. Fingerprints and footprints have also been taken, and an anthropologist was being consulted.
"All the body parts appear to be from a child of approximately the same age," according to a statement from police and the medical examiner's office. "The hair was short, curly and black in color; the eyes were brown; and the earlobes were not pierced, suggesting the child may be male (but female gender cannot be ruled out at present)."
The first remains were discovered Saturday afternoon when someone called 911 to report a foot floating in the lagoon. It turned out to be the left foot of the child, according to authorities.
Police later found the child's other foot and both hands toward the north end of the lagoon about 25 yards away. A 20-pound weight was found nearby, authorities said. Late the next day, the child's head was discovered near where other body parts were found.
On Tuesday, city crews began to pump the first of a couple million gallons of water into sewers on Hamlin Boulevard, which was closed from Lake Street to Washington Boulevard.
Anyone with information about missing children fitting the description was asked to contact Area North detectives at 312-744-8261, send a text CRIMES (274637) or call 1-800-535-STOP.
