STERLING, Ill. — Three months have gone by since 18-year-old Jackson T. Kradle's body was found along Illinois Route 78 near Mount Carroll, and the community wants answers now.
On Tuesday, Oct. 29, Kradle's family and friends gathered outside the ISP Headquarters in Sterling, holding handmade signs reading "Justice for Jackson," and requesting answers in the death investigation.
Mount Carroll residents have also gathered outside the Carroll County Courthouse every Wednesday since the investigation began back in July.
Brittany Smith, a family friend of the Kradles, said the family has struggled with the ongoing investigation.
"I know it's been very, very rough for them," Smith said. "It's very unfair that they have to go through that. It's not something that's gonna go away any time soon."
The ISP said it has maintained regular communication with Kradle's family throughout the investigation.
In early September, the Illinois State Police announced that they had a person of interest in Kradle's death investigation. Due to the ongoing investigation, officials say they cannot yet release the person's name.
ISP has handed the case over to the state prosecutor's office in Springfield.
Kradle's body was found on July 28
According to the Illinois State Police (ISP), the Carroll County Sheriff's Office reached out to ISP around 11:30 a.m. on July 28, asking the state agency to conduct a death investigation after a body, later identified as Kradle, was found on Illinois Route 78 just north of Mount Carroll.
According to a friend of Kradle, the teenager had been hanging out with friends hours before his death.
Kradle was a 2024 graduate of West Carroll High School.