Commuters on the Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line faced a grim interruption Friday afternoon as service was brought to a halt following the discovery of a body on the tracks near O'Hare International Airport. According to the Chicago Tribune, the unidentified person was found unresponsive around 3:27 p.m. near Terminal Five and was pronounced deceased at the scene. The troubling find disrupted the rush hour flow for those heading to and from one of the nation's busiest airports, leaving travelers stranded as homicide detectives launched an investigation.
While an autopsy was scheduled for Saturday, little information was available regarding the identity or the circumstances of the death. Not able to identify the person's gender, police remained tight-lipped as the investigation continued. As the afternoon wore on, CBS News Chicago reported that by early evening service had resumed with residual delays, even as the Cook County medical examiner's office had yet to identify the victim.
The incident, which police say is under investigation by Area 5 detectives, caused a service suspension between Rosemont and the O’Hare terminal that lasted for several hours.
By around 6:30 p.m., normalcy began to bud slowly; trains began shuttling passengers once again between Rosemont and O'Hare, albeit behind schedule. According to the Chicago Tribune, officials from the Chicago Transit Authority confirmed the resumption of the service after hours of investigative work on the tracks.
