Sheriff to discuss arrest in 1997 murder on Tuesday

Illinois teen’s body was found in Town of Burlington marsh

Racine County Sheriff’s Department investigators have made an arrest in the 1997 sexual assault and murder of a 14-year-old Illinois girl whose body was found in a Town of Burlington marsh. Sheriff Christopher Schmaling has called a press briefing for Tuesday at 11 a.m. to discuss the arrest and the investigation that led to the arrest in the 17-year-old case.

According to Burlington Standard Press archives, the body of Amber Creek, of Palatine, Ill., was found on February 9, 1997, by two men who were scouting for hunting areas in the Karcher Wildlife Area. Creek – who had been beaten, sexually assaulted and suffocated with a plastic bag, according to investigators at the time – remained unidentified for 16 months after he body was discovered.

According to reports, her body had been posed with an upraised hand and the word “Hi” written on her palm.

Sheriff’s officials have declined to release any further information on the arrest – which occurred Saturday – until the press conference on Tuesday. The sheriff’s department initially planned to hold a press conference on Monday, but postponed it until Tuesday after learning the authorities in Fond du Lac County planned to hold a separate press conference regarding another cold murder case with ties to Racine County.

Investigators in Fond du Lac have said they’ve gathered sufficient evidence in the 1990 murder of Berit Beck, of Sturtevant, to identify a 60-year-old truck driver from Kenosha as a suspect. Local officials said they don’t want the public to confuse the two cases.

“Out of respect for the Creek family and the Beck family – and for the benefit of our ongoing respective investigations – we have decided to postpone our media briefing regarding the arrest of a suspect in the rape and murder of Amber Creek,” Racine County Chief Deputy John Hanrahan said in an email to media members Sunday. “Both cases are extremely important and warrant independent exposure to generate investigative leads without unnecessarily confusing the public or diminishing the significance of each.”