"Significant" new evidence found in Illinois cop slaying
FOX LAKE, Ill. -- Authorities investigating the slaying of a northern Illinois police officer say they've recovered a new piece of "significant" evidence from the crime scene.
Evidence technicians returning to the scene of Tuesday's shooting in the village of Fox Lake made the discovery Friday afternoon, said Lake County Sheriff's Office detective Christopher Covelli.
He refused to reveal what it was, citing the ongoing investigation.
"They've been going back to the scene on a daily basis with a fresh set of eyes," he told The Associated Press Saturday.
Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was slain Tuesday while pursuing three suspicious men on foot in a marshy area of the lakeside community 45 miles northwest of Chicago. The only description given of the men was that two were white and the third was black.
Investigators have tracked 100 leads and interviewed 50 people, CBS station WBBM's Brad Edwards reported. The crime has rocked the normally quiet community.
"I expect this in Chicago. Not here. This is just unruly," resident Jim Formby said outside a local shop that was printing memorial signs honoring the slain officer.
WBBM reporter Suzanne Le Mignot learned investigators have showed residents pictures of specific individuals, asking if they recognize them.
Investigators went to the Hidden Glenn condominium complex on Wednesday following up on leads. One resident of the complex and one person visiting the development said investigators showed them a specific picture of an African-American man.
"They were just going door to door with the picture of an African American, asking if anybody knew about his whereabouts," resident Sharon Genualdi told Le Mignot.
Investigators gathering evidence have faced the challenge of working at a site overgrown with foliage.
"The guys had to go out and buy machetes and weed whackers and they've been chopping this stuff out of the way and turning over every leaf and did locate something that will be significant down the road," Covelli said.
Covelli also said Saturday that FBI technicians piecing together several videos that are part of the investigation have told detectives some of the images line up with the description Gliniewicz gave dispatchers of the men.
"I think we're getting closer to identifying somebody that we're going to want to talk to," he said.
Residents and businesses have come forward with some of the videos.
A $50,000 reward has been offered in the case.