PEORIA A Chillicothe man died of cold exposure after he fallen at his property along the Illinois River.
Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said Kent Hamm, 57, was found in his backyard, and there was no sign of trauma or foul play. A report on toxicology is pending.
He had been reported missing on Tuesday morning, according to the sheriff s department. The Peoria County Coroner s Office is involved in the investigation.
Hamm was last seen on Jan. 20, at approximately 7 a.m. at the Shell Gas Station, 5530 E Knox Street in Chillicothe. His family, the sheriff s department said, reported last speaking with Hamm over the phone on Jan. 18.
The Des Plaines Fire Department is investigating a space heater as the possible cause of a fire that killed four young girls and their mother Wednesday morning as the department also found the family was likely trapped because the fire started at their unit’s only exit and there were no smoke detectors on their floor, officials said.
The building had a long history of property maintenance code enforcement violations, the city also said in a news release.
The fire started about 10:15 a.m. Wednesday in a two-story frame apartment building at 714 W. Oakton St. in the northwest suburb. Preliminary investigation showed that the fire started at the top of the stairs into a second-floor unit, which is the only entry and exit to the unit, the fire department wrote in a release Thursday. There were no smoke detectors on the second floor, where the family was found, officials said.