Cook County Sheriff’s officers searched several abandoned homes in the southern suburbs of Chicago Wednesday after information revealed that a suspected serial killer in Indiana may have visited the area before his arrest over the weekend.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart ordered the searches of nearly 20 abandoned homes in the Harvey and Markham areas, with the help of a cadaver dog.
“There is data that shows he was in this general area,” said Dart. “Unfortunately, some of the bodies that have been found so far have been buried in the structure underneath all sorts of debris so having the cadaver dog can be very helpful.”
Authorities in Northwest Indiana have charged 43-year-old Darren Deon Vann in the murders of two men so far, but charges are pending in at least five other deaths.
They say the majority of the victims were discovered in abandoned homes in Gary, Indiana.
“We don’t know what reason would bring him here but clearly it would be beyond negligent on our part not to run out the very areas where has been killing and dumping people,” Dart said.
Authorities in Gary searched more than 90 homes in the city Tuesday along with a cadaver dog.
As the sheriff’s office continues to search the abandoned homes in Cook County Wednesday and Thursday, residents hope it leads to them being torn down.
“We need to go through each one of them and see what we can find, hopefully no bodies,” said resident Nathaniel Malone.
