BELVIDERE — A local farmer found the body of a 21-year-old wanted Poplar Grove man in a field Wednesday.
The body of Travis M. Radford, who is listed as one of Belvidere/Boone County’s Most Wanted, was discovered in a wooded area in the 12000 block of Beaverton Road in rural Boone County about 3 p.m.
The cause of death has not yet been released. The Boone County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy on the body at 9 a.m.
Click on the following for more details on the Rockford Register Star article: Dead man found in Boone County field was wanted for cop assault - Rockford, IL - Rockford Register Star
UPDATE 10:30PM 4/15/2010
Boone County Body Ruled Homicide
The investigation into a body found in Boone County on Wednesday has been ruled a murder.
Police say the circumstances surrounding Travis Radford's death are suspicious.
21 year old Travis Radford... seen here in a 2009 Boone County Jail mugshot... died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
He was found in a wooded area off of a farm field wednesday.
Radford had problems with police since 2007. He was put on the Boone County most wanted list this month for a 2009 assault on a police officer.
Court records show he also faced theft, drug, and alcohol charges. He also had several traffic violations ranging from speeding to leaving the scene of an accident.
Police say Radford appeared to have been homeless at the time... and detectives are busy.
"There's a lot of information out there, he did have a lot of contacts in the Boone County area."
Police don't know yet if Radford was murdered next to the field... or if his body was hidden there.
Farmer Don Ellingson's son found the body. He says he knew there was foul play when he saw the body.
"A boy doesn't go out in a wooded area without any shoes on, how'd he get there, there was no vehicle, and you don't go walking in the country without any shoes."
Ellingson never expected something like this to happen.
"All my life I've heard about people finding dead bodies on the farm, I've often wondered about it, never thought it'd happen, but it did."
The sheriff's department says there are a lot of leads to follow, and the investigation is far from finished
Here is the Crime Stoppers’ ad from the Boone County Journal: http://boonecountyjournal.com/news/2011/Boone-County-News-04-15-11.pdf#page=9
Click on the photocopy to enlarge:
Belvidere Daily Republican’s article on the discovery of the body:
Body of Poplar Grove man discovered in wooded area
Friday, 15 April 2011 14:07 Editor
POPLAR GROVE - The Boone County Sheriff’s office is investigating the discovery a body April 13 near the 12000 block of Beaverton Road. According to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, the body of Travis M. Radford, 21, of Poplar Grove, was found in a wooded area.
The body was discovered at approximately 3 p.m. by a local farmer.
The cause of death has not yet been determined.
The Boone County Coroner’s Office was scheduled to conduct an autopsy on April 14.
A phone call made to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office seeking information was not returned as of press time.
The Belvidere Daily Republican will have more on this story in the coming days.
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