CARROLL COUNTY, ILLINOIS, Ill. — It has now been over four months since the body of 18-year-old Jackson Kradle was found alongside Illinois Route 78 near Mount Carroll. Since that day, family and friends have rallied together to demand answers as to what happened the morning of July 28.
On Nov. 7, Carroll County Sheriff Ryan Kloepping released a statement on the death investigation. It was the first time the sheriff's office had made an official statement since Kradle's body was found. Then on Nov. 9, Carroll County Coroner Matthew Jones said an inquest into Kradle's death would take place.
That inquest was initially set for Dec. 13 but has been pushed to Jan. 14, 2025. Jones said that Forensic Pathologist Dr. Mark Peters determined the cause of death to be “blunt trauma to the head, due to a motor-vehicle pedestrian crash.” The focus of the inquest will be to establish the manner of death (i.e. suicide, homicide, undetermined, accidental, etc.).
Jones provided the following statement as to why the inquest was pushed back:
“After collaborating with the Illinois State Police and the Special Prosecutor’s Office, we felt the inquest should be rescheduled. I am working diligently with the prosecutor's office to move the process forward while maintaining the integrity and thoroughness that this case deserves. The families are being updated and I am fully committed to ensuring a comprehensive and transparent inquest process.”
Through a Freedom of Information Act request, News 8 obtained phone calls from the morning Kradle's body was found and internal records about the investigation. Though many questions remain unanswered, these records paint a better picture of the timeline of events.
The morning of July 28
Kradle's body was not reported via a 911 emergency call. An off-duty sheriff's deputy, who News 8 will refer to as Employee A, made a call to the sheriff's office's non-emergency line at 3:31 a.m. reporting a body along Illinois Route 78, according to phone call records.
In that call, the employee reported they and another off-duty employee, Employee B, came across a body on the side of the road. Employee B would later be identified as a dispatcher and paramedic for Carroll County, according to the sheriff's Nov. 7 statement.
Those two employees have since resigned from the sheriff's office. News 8 is not naming them as charges have not been filed in the case.
In that initial call, Employee A said Kradle's body was still warm and that they and Employee B would not be doing CPR due to the state of the victim. The call lasted just under three minutes.
Then at 3:40 a.m. and 3:52 a.m., two calls come in from the Illinois State Police. The Carroll County dispatcher and ISP discuss sending state troopers to the scene in the first call. In the second call, ISP asks if EMS is heading to the scene since the body is deceased to which the dispatcher responds that a paramedic is there, who is Employee B. The dispatcher said she was never told to dispatch the coroner to the scene. According to the Nov. 7 statement, the coroner was contacted at 5:14 a.m. to respond to the scene.
Another call was made just after 4 a.m. from an unknown deputy/responder at the scene. Both the dispatcher and caller expressed confusion as to what had occurred.
The sheriff's office contacted ISP to handle the death investigation. ISP previously told News 8 it received this request around 11:30 a.m. on July 28. Kloepping said he contacted ISP due to a possible conflict of interest in the investigation.
You can find all four calls in their entirety in the video below. Names and other identifying information have been redacted.
Editor's note: Some viewers might find the content of the recordings distressing. Please listen with caution.
The days following July 28
Kloepping said he notified the two employees that they had been placed on administrative leave and would be the subject of an internal investigation by the department. Those notifications are dated July 29. An interrogation was scheduled for July 31 at 2 p.m. but both employees announced their resignation via email just hours before it was set to take place.
News 8 received those documents and internal correspondence through our FOIA request. According to those documents, Employee A and Employee B were being investigated for the following:
- Violations of the Illinois vehicle code relating to the death of Jackson Kradle
- Violations of the Illinois Compiled Statutes related to the death of Jackson Kradle
- Unbecoming conduct: conduct that reflects negatively on the department
- Conduct which reflects discredit upon the officer as a member of the Carroll County Sheriff's Office or impairs the operation or efficiency of the department or deputy
Most of this information was not made public until the sheriff's Nov. 7 statement. In the months between, family and friends of Kradle consistently held protests demanding answers in his case.
READ MORE: Loved ones of Jackson Kradle respond to Carroll County sheriff's statement on death investigation
ISP has completed its investigation and the case now is in the hands of the Illinois State Appellate Prosecutor's Office. ISP previously told News 8 it does have a person of interest in the case.
Court records show a no-contact order was filed by Employee B against Kradle's stepmother in September. It was lifted three weeks later after Employee B failed to appear in court.