ROCHELLE — A GoFundMe fundraiser has been established for the family and memorial expenses of a 41-year-old Rochelle man that was found dead the morning of Sept. 27 in the downtown Rochelle area. The Rochelle Police Department is treating the case as a suspicious death.

RPD and the Rochelle Fire Department were called to 101 N. Washington St. around 8:15 a.m. Sept. 27, for a report of an unresponsive male, who was later declared deceased and identified as Manuel Penaran, 41, of Rochelle. The Illinois State Police crime scene unit was called and processed the scene. The investigation, which RPD Chief Pete Pavia said is still in its early stages, is being conducted by RPD and ISP. 

A memorial is planned for Penaran, the GoFundMe’s organizer, Stephanie Penaran, said.

“I want to thank everyone for taking time to donate,” Stephanie Penaran said in the GoFundMe. “I really truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate your help during these difficult times. My father didn’t deserve this. He was always a friendly person and tried to help anyone who needed his help. I hope to see many of you at the Kermés we have organized there will be a variety of Mexican food, music, pastries, clown for the kids, etc. that will take place Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. at 11125 E. Flagg Road in Rochelle.”

The GoFundMe can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/manuel-penaran?cdn-cache=0

Penaran was found outside behind the Ornamental Plasterwork Services building at 101 N. Washington St. Pavia said Oct. 1 that he was unable to comment on whether or not Penaran’s body showed evidence of foul play. 

Several witnesses have been interviewed in relation to the case, Pavia said. As of Oct. 1, it was not a homicide investigation, just a suspicious death, he said. RPD and ISP were waiting on autopsy and toxicology reports as of Oct. 1. 

“Our detective came in and took a look at the body and after speaking with individuals in the area it became suspicious that it could potentially be more than a natural cause death and that's when the investigation started,” Pavia said. “We then called the ISP crime team to process the whole scene. We did everything we could to preserve the scene and get all the evidence we could and now the case is running its course. I anticipate there will be more information upon completion of the autopsy.”

Pavia said there is video footage of Penaran in the area from the night before he was found, but a timeline has not yet been set in the investigation. The Ogle County Coroner’s Office did not provide investigators with a time frame of how long Penaran had been deceased for before he was found. 

“The ISP and our detective division are out now doing neighborhood canvasses and looking for additional camera footage and things like that,” Pavia said. “We're looking at this as an isolated incident. As far as we're concerned, there's no danger to the public. We'll continue to work the case.”

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact RPD at (815) 562-2131.