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player ready...Aurora police are investigating whether the decomposed body found Thursday afternoon near an abandoned SUV in Aurora is that of a missing Berwyn woman.
A body believed to be that of Sandra Jefferson, 54, was discovered around 1:35 p.m. Thursday by Illinois Department of Transportation workers who were mowing near a wooded area north of Interstate 88 and west of Deerpath Road, Aurora police said.
“We do not have a positive identification, but based on the circumstances of the investigation and evidence we recovered, we believe it was (Jefferson),” Aurora Police Department spokesman Dan Ferrelli said Friday afternoon.
Ferrelli said that due to the decomposition of the body, a positive identification will most likely be based on DNA results from Friday’s autopsy. But, based on the fact that Jefferson’s vehicle was on the scene, along with other physical characteristics, officers were able to reach a tentative identification, Ferrelli said.
According to Ferrelli, preliminary autopsy findings showed no signs of trauma to the body; however, the cause of death remains undetermined. Results from toxicology and other tests are pending.
Aurora police are saying there is evidence that leads investigators to believe Jefferson may have entered the wooded area near Vision Court and Orchard Gateway, Ferrelli said. He said it is not clear when that occurred, or how long Jefferson’s body may have been in the area where it was found.
Police are asking anyone who ma have witnessed any suspicious or unusual activity involving a blue SUV in the area of Vision Court and Orchard Gateway over the course of the past two weeks to call police at 630-256-5500.
Berwyn police said family members reported Jefferson missing Sept. 3 after she failed to return home from a shopping trip she had taken by herself.
During their investigation into Jefferson’s disappearance, Berwyn police Cmdr. Michael Cimaglia said investigators learned that Jefferson had been arrested in Lombard during her shopping trip.
Lombard police Chief Ray Byrne said Jefferson was charged with retail theft and posted bond that same day.
According to the National Missing Persons Directory, Jefferson was last seen around 4:15 p.m. Sept. 3, picking up her blue 2010 Nissan Rogue from Lombard Body and Tow, where it had been taken following her arrest.
Family members said it was the last time anybody reported seeing Jefferson alive.
Shirlene Jones, Jefferson’s niece, described her aunt as very family-oriented. The mother of four was outgoing and very spiritual, Jones said. She told The Beacon-News that she was upset there wasn’t more media coverage surrounding Jefferson’s disappearance.
“I was very upset because the media pretty much covers everything from gangs to other missing people. Why didn’t they at least try to cover (Jefferson’s disappearance)?” Jones asked. “How many days does someone need to be missing before they put it on the news? This is the result. If there was a possible murderer on the loose, you’d think they’d want to get to the bottom of it. But nothing happened.”
Now, she said, the family of Sandra Jefferson is just waiting for answers.
“The family is just really hoping we can get some kinds of answers,” she said. “Who did this? Why would they want to do something like that to my aunt?”
In an earlier online version of this article, Jefferson was identified as a resident of Lombard.
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