The body of a 23-year-old Carol Stream resident was found hanging from a tree in Community Park Thursday morning, while a bus load of District 41 students were a mere 100 feet away.

Malcolm McCreary was last seen by his family 12 hours before he was found in the park by police. The investigation concluded he committed suicide some time during the night, according to Carol Stream Lt. Ed Sailer.

Sailer said McCreary was found hanging from a tree at 8:18 a.m. in the park, northeast of Geneva Road and President Street.

The area around McCreary’s body was immediately covered with a tarp so it could not be seen by the public, according to Sailer.

“Upon arrival of officers and paramedics, a school bus occupied with children was parked in the parking lot approximately 100 feet from the body,” Sailer said in a press release.
Officers directed the bus driver to drive the bus away from the area while the scene was being investigated.

Buses delivering students to Churchill Elementary School and Hadley Junior High School also passed the park on their morning routes, according to a notice on the district’s Web site.

Officials said some students on the buses — Hadley bus No. 1 and Churchill bus No. 5 — might have seen the body, and the schools implemented their student support services plans.

“All the children who were on these buses are being talked to,” the notice stated. “If they are not overly upset, they are allowed to go back to class, but (they are) told to come to the office if they feel they need to talk at any time during the day.”

Students who wanted to go home were able to do so if a parent or authorized person picked them up, the notice stated.