PEORIA, Ill. — The Peoria County Sheriff’s Office and coroner have identified the remains of a body found in the Illinois River nearly three years ago.
Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood identified the John Doe as John Frisch, who would have been 56-years-old when his torso was found in Schuyler County in November 2016, according to a release by Peoria County Sheriff Brian Asbell.
Harwood ruled the cause of death was blunt force head trauma.
“This was a horrific crime that occurred where John Frisch’s body was dismembered after his death and found in the Illinois River,” Asbell said Tuesday.
A skull found on the shore of the Illinois River in Kingston Mines in June 2017 has also been identified as Frisch’s.
A Peoria County detective, Detective Hoffman, investigated and eliminated every reported missing person in the United States using identifiers and DNA from this John Doe, according to Captain Chris Watkins.
“It took over a year but he did,” Watkins said.
Detectives diligently worked with the DNA Doe Project and they were able to give detectives a strong candidate through forensic genealogy, according to the release. Both of Frisch’s parents died years ago.
Harwood and his staff worked with agencies in Hawaii and confirmed the John Doe’s identity by dental records that were from Hawaii.
Frisch was never reported missing, but had used addresses in Peoria and Hawaii throughout his life. At the time of his death, he did not have a permanent residence.
“He was arrested in Peoria County 16 times, booked here at the jail. He was arrested also numerous times in Hawaii,” Watkins said.
Asbell said that the Sheriff’s Office needs help from the public to figure out what happened to Frisch.
“We’re looking for timelines, we’re looking for possible associates to help us solve this investigation,” Asbell said.
Anyone with information on John Frisch is asked to call Detective Hoffman at (309) 657-5532, Lt. Dan Corpus at (309) 258-7160, or Crime Stoppers at (309) 673-9000.
This is currently an active investigation.
