The remains of a United Airlines executive who went missing more than a year ago after he was last seen going for a jog near his suburban Chicago home were found hanging by a belt from an uprooted tree in a nature preserve, according to officials.
Authorities have confirmed that human remains found are those of Jacob Cefolia, 50.
Contractors found the remains of Cefolia, of Elmhurst, Illinois, on Friday afternoon in an area of heavy brush and vegetation at the 2500-acre Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve near Darien.
It was the same location where Cefolia's Range Rover Sport was found after he went missing on August 8, 2020.
A forensic odonatologist examined dental records and positively identified the remains as belonging to Cefolia, according to the corner.
Jacob Cefolia, 50, of Elmhurst, Illinois, went missing in August 2020 after going for a job in a nature preserve in suburban Chicago
Contractors found the remains of Cefolia, of Elmhurst, Illinois, on Friday afternoon in an area of heavy brush and vegetation at the 2500-acre Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve near Darien. It was the same location where Cefolia's Range Rover Sport was found after he went missing on August 8, 2020
Cefolia's Range Rover Sport is seen in the above file photo. Law enforcement officials said they found a COVID-19 face mask hanging from the steering wheel, a gray pullover in the back seat, and a golf bag with a set of clubs and $120 in cash in the trunk
Police said Cefolia was known to job several miles in the Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve
Cefolia was senior vice president of global sales for Chicago-based United Airlines, the fourth largest passenger carrier in the United States. An avid runner, he was known to jog through the area, running for several miles at a time.
The contractors were removing invasive species in the area when they came across 'human remains hanging from a low hanging tree,' according to the Forest Preserve District chief of police.
The remains were found away from any trail in an area south of a campground for youth groups.
DuPage County Forest Preserve District police Chief David Pederson said his agency notified the DuPage County Coroner's Office.
'The human remains were located in a very thick covered brush area, extremely, so you can be 10 feet away and not see it,' Pederson told NBC 5 TV.
