Missing Orland Park Man Found Dead In Homer Glen Pond: Police

HOMER GLEN, IL — The body of a 41-year-old Orland Park man who had been missing since the middle of last week was found in a Homer Glen pond on Sunday evening, the Will County Sheriff’s Department said on Monday.

The Will County coroner identified the man as Robert J. Gory on Monday, a day after police said they were called to the Pheasant Hill subdivision in Homer Glen after receiving word the man’s body had been found in a retention pond around 5 p.m.

Police said Gory’s body was detected by a man who was fishing at the pond and saw the body about 10 feet from shore, police said. Homer Glen Northwest Fire removed the body from the water and the Will County Coroner's Office arrived and pronounced the time of death at 7:10 p.m.

Officers were able to identify the man after retrieving his driver’s license from his pocket. Crime scene investigators searched the pond area for any suspicious evidence, but did not turn up anything, the sheriff’s office said Monday.

A sheriff's deputy told other investigators that he had taken a missing person's report on Gory on Friday. He said the man’s mother had reported her son missing and that the man matched the mother's description, police said.

At the time of the missing person's report, the victim's mother told police that her 41-year-old son had left their Orland Park residence on foot shortly after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. She said that before calling the police, she had called area hospitals and had visited establishments that she believed her son may have visited, but was unsuccessful in her attempts. She became concerned and called the police to file the missing person's report.

Preliminary reports from an autopsy conducted on Monday show there were no signs of trauma. The cause of death is pending completion of reports and toxicology, police said.