Body Found In Burning Clothes Donation Bin In Uptown

CHICAGO (CBS) — A body was found in a clothing donation box that had caught fire Thursday morning in the Uptown neighborhood on the North Side.

Firefighters were called to the 1500 block of West Wilson Avenue around 7:15 a.m., to respond to a clothing donation box on fire. After the fire was out, firefighters found a body inside the box, police said.

The remnants of a clothing donation box, which was set on fire in the Uptown neighborhood; a body was found. (Steve Miller/WBBM)

The donation box is located in the parking lot shared by a Staples and a Walgreens.

Police were conducting a death investigation.

A store clerk said, before the fire, a co-worker watched as someone opened the door of the donation box, then ran from the scene.

After the fire, a shopping cart stood near the donation box, filled with what appeared to be the possessions of a homeless person.