Barricades block the section of Honing Road, where Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Glinieiwcz was found shot Sept. 1, and later died at the scene. Members of Lake County’s major crimes task force and the coroner’s office visited the site Sept. 22.

Several swatches of DNA, from unknown sources, were recovered at the Honing Road site of Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Gliniewicz’s Sept. 1 shooting with one sample potentially holding the key to his homicide investigation.

More than 80 swabs were also collected from individuals and will be compared for matches.

At a Sept. 22 news conference, Lake County sheriff’s Det. Chris Covelli said the strongest DNA sample is being run through the Federal Bureau of Investigation combined DNA Index System (CODIS) for a possible match with those in the national database.

Additionally, Covelli related that reports from gunshot residue tests conducted at Illinois State Police Crime Lab, as well as ballistics tests from the Northeastern Illinois Regional Crime Lab, were in possession of the lead investigating agency, the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force. He declined to elaborate on the findings.

Earlier that morning, members of the task force and the Lake County Coroner’s Office met to discuss the evidence and data findings, along with all accumulated leads. The following day, both agencies met again to undertake a site inspection of the Honing Road death scene, tying locations and collection areas identified on paper.

“At this point, we’re waiting for the DNA results, and I will not comment further,” said Lake County coroner Dr. Thomas Rudd.

He didn’t indicate a time window for those findings, as it is also governed by the number of laboratory cases currently in process.

The coroner’s office was chastised by the task force’s head, Cmdr. George Filenko, for divulging that “a single catastrophic gunshot wound” had caused Gliniewicz’s death, and the information could have conceivable jeopardized the ongoing homicide investigation.

Also at the news conference, Covelli said that a K-9 unit, trained in tracking gunshot residue, did follow a scent for more than a quarter-mile away from the shooting scene. The path was lost, after the dog’s handler suffered physical illness.

“The track didn’t tell us how many suspects … but it was apparent that it was a good track,” he said.

Gliniewicz was found shot Sept. 1, after calling Fox Lake police dispatch that he was looking into suspicious activity near the 100 block of Honing Road, and a vague description of two white men and one black man. Responding back-up officers found Gliniewicz, who died at the scene.

An exhaustive manhunt ensued involving approximately 400 “on-the-ground” personnel, several helicopters and other aircraft, along with K-9 units. The Kenosha-based firm of Aeroworks Productions LLC had responded to an online forum requesting drone aircraft with high-definition thermal imaging cameras. En route to Fox Lake, the company owner, Adam Andrews, was told that coverage was sufficient.

Video, from residential and commercial security systems, were able to isolate the three suspects. Task force members subsequently located, interviewed, and ultimately released the three men, as they were able to substantiate their whereabouts through time-stamped receipts. The search continues for three men, according to Covelli.

The monetary outlay for the multi-department manhunt effort, from Sept. 1-3, is not known, and has not been calculated.

“We have no figures, or cost analysis, for the investigation so far,” said Covelli, the sheriff’s department spokesperson, and interim Fox Lake public information officer. “That’s something we have no totals for.”