19 year old colored boy, Christopher Smith of Dolton IL, freezes to death after fleeing police after committing a carjacking

A colored boy with a checkered past who was suspected in a south suburban carjacking found dead in forest preserve

A 19-year-old man who had been pursued by police in connection with a carjacking early in the week was found dead Thursday afternoon in a Cook County Forest Preserve near Sauk Village, police said.

Sauk Village Police Chief Robert Kowalski said Christopher Smith of Dolton probably died of hypothermia within an hour of running into the preserve about 2 a.m. Tuesday. His body was found in a marshy area in the Plum Creek Forest Preserve. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday.

Smith and an unidentified second man fled from police after crashing a vehicle in Sauk Village, Kowalski said. Police wanted to question the two men in connection with an alleged carjacking in Dolton, Kowalski said. Police said the two men had taken the car at gunpoint and robbed the victim of his wallet and cell phone.

Police quickly apprehended the second man after the crash but were unable to locate Smith, who ran in a different direction, Kowalski said. He added that the second man declined to identify Smith.

Cook County officials subsequently searched the unincorporated area without success, Kowalski said.

Searchers had no idea where to look for Smith, Kowalski said. Searchers found no tracks to follow and were impeded by "so much brush and debris," he said.

Spurred by two calls from Smith's mother, who called to ask if her son had been arrested, two more searches were conducted. According to Sauk Village police, the first was conducted by Cook County sheriff's police and was unsuccessful.

Sauk Village police and firefighters launched a third search Thursday afternoon and found Smith's body "right away" in a marshy area of the preserve northeast of the intersection of Torrence Avenue and Steger Road, "totally opposite of where we found the first guy," Kowalski said.

Kowalski said both men are "not from here" and had no prior connection to Sauk Village. Smith's mother also has no connection to the village, he said.

Asked why Smith's mother called Sauk Village police in search of her son, Kowalski responded, "Your guess is as good as mine; maybe we're getting a good reputation."