Death of Crystal Lake boy deemed ‘suspicious’; on 911 call, man urgently requests ambulance

A heavily redacted Crystal Lake police report indicates the death of an 8-year-old local boy in June has been classified as “suspicious.”

A heavily redacted Crystal Lake police report indicates the death of an 8-year-old local boy in June has been classified as “suspicious.” More than a month since the boy was found unresponsive in his home, authorities with the Crystal Lake Police Department, McHenry County Coroner’s Office and the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services have confirmed there still is an active and ongoing investigation but declined to provide any details at this time. On a recording of a 911 call made from the boy’s home the morning of June 6, obtained by Shaw Local through a Freedom of Information Act request, a man identifies the child as his son and urgently asks for an ambulance to be sent to his home.

“I just went to check on my 8-year-old sleeping, and he seems non-responsive. Please send an ambulance right now,” the man says. The dispatcher asks if the child is breathing, has a pulse or if the man sees his chest rising.

He says no, and pleads for the ambulance to arrive. “His eyes are open. He’s not breathing, I don’t think.

I’m trying to feel a pulse,” the man says. The dispatcher instructs the man to take the child off the bed and lay him on the floor and start chest compressions. The man says “a little bit of foam” is coming from the boy’s mouth.

The Crystal Lake police report, obtained by Shaw Local, lists the investigation as a death under “suspicious circumstances.” According McHenry County Coroner Dr. Michael Rein previously said his office was notified by Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital about 11 a.m. that day regarding the death of an 8-year-old boy . The child had been taken from his home on McHenry Avenue to Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased, the coroner said.

No cause or manner of death has been determined for the boy, and Rein said last week that such a determination can take up to three months. Typically, that involves toxicology testing to indicate if outside substances were involved in a person’s death. Heather Tarczan, director of communications at DCFS, wrote in a response to a recent emailed question that “this remains an active investigation” and that “DCFS is actively investigating this case and working with local law enforcement.

It is the Department’s policy not to comment on active investigations.” Police also have said the investigation remains active. Shaw Local is withholding the name of the child, as neither authorities nor a family member has confirmed his identity.

Attempts to reach the family have been unsuccessful.