Three suspects in the killing of a veteran Fox Lake police officer are believed to still be in the area and authorities say they've made "significant progress" in their search.
The announcement came during a Thursday press conference where Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Commander George Filenko said authorities in the community about 60 miles north of Chicago continue to follow up on leads and canvass the area as they hunt for three "extremely dangerous" men believed to have killed Lieutenant Charles "Joe" Gliniewicz.
"Obviously we have a lot of transportation means in this area — trains, cars, buses — we’re still working off the fact that we’re presuming there’s a good probability that they are still somewhere in the area," Filenko said. "Now whether they're in Fox Lake or any of the surrounding border communities that remains to be seen."
Filenko confirmed the officer’s gun was recovered, but he didn't confirm if it was retrieved at the scene, or used in the shooting.
He added that officers received video from a home security system in the area that they believe is "significant." The video was turned over to the Department of Homeland Security for verification and the resident who turned it in said it is consistent with the story about three suspects, Filenko said.
"We are making some progress, some significant progress today," he said.
The gunmen are described as two white men and one black man, but further details on their descriptions have not been made available.
U.S. & World
Officials expect lab results on evidence gathered at the crime scene to be released as early as Friday morning.
More than 100 officers were canvassing the Fox Lake area Thursday, revisiting areas and searching new territories.
The updates come after a "disappointing" night for authorities, when more than 100 officers spent about five hours searching an area following a tip that was determined to be fake.
"Last night was an unfortunate incident," Filenko said. "It tied up a number of resources, including my detectives."
Detective Christopher Covelli with the Lake County Sheriff's office said the response shows the Fox Lake community that officers are working to keep them safe.
"It really shows that we are here and we are active in this community," he said. "We are active to keep the residents in this community safe... Things will never be quite normal here in Fox Lake with the death of Lt. Gliniewicz."
Residents, family members and officers from Fox Lake and surrounding communities gathered Wednesday night for an emotional vigil to honor Gliniewicz, a 30-year veteran of the police force affectionately called "G.I. Joe." Authorities said funeral arrangements were still being worked out, but a service is believed to be scheduled for Monday.
