Woman's Body Found In Calumet City

CALUMET CITY, Ill. (WBBM/AP)  -- An autopsy will take place Friday in order to positively identify a woman whose naked and badly decomposed body was found in Calumet City near the area where authorities were looking for a missing Chicago woman.

WBBM's Bob Roberts and Bernie Tafoya report.

Police are warning against circulated reports that the body has been positively identified as Nailah Franklin, 28, who has been missing for eight days. 

Police say dental records will be required to id the body and that the Franklin family has been asked to provide Nailah's records.

Only police officers have actually seen the badly decomposed body and her identity is undetermined at this point, police said.  Police say the body is in such condition as to make positive identification of the race impossible.

Police say no family members have been asked to help with determining the woman's identity.

The body was found early Thursday morning after two Calumet City officers searched a wooded area behind a vacant video store.  The officers found items that forced them to search deeper into the woods where they discovered the body, according to police.

The body was found in the same area where police have been searching for Franklin, 28, who has been missing for eight days. Franklin's family has been offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts.

This morning, members of Franklin's family were in south suburban Calumet City.

Chicago Police were on the scene and said they would provide further details about mysterious discovery this afternoon at a 4 p.m. news conference.

Franklin of the 1500 block of South Sangamon, was last heard from Sept. 18 when she text-messaged her boyfriend about 8:15 p.m., police said. Her family called police when she didn’t show up for work.

Franklin’s car was found Saturday morning in Hammond, Ind., and Chicago Police searched a pond at the River Oaks Golf Course in Calumet City later Saturday.

Franklin’s car, a 2005 Chevrolet Impala, had been returned to Chicago for forensic and evidence processing.