LEMONT, Ill. – Bodies of two men wrapped in plastic and bed sheets secured with packing tape were found Thursday by construction crews working to pave a bike path in unincorporated Cook County.

The bodies, bound separately, were dumped in dirt and gravel just off a completed portion of the multiuse asphalt trail near a busy four-lane highway.

They likely were placed there late Wednesday or early Thursday because crews hadn’t seen them at the site Wednesday afternoon, sheriff’s department spokeswoman Penny Mateck said.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office planned autopsies Friday to determine a cause of death, but a preliminary investigation indicated the men were about 6 feet tall, appear to be Hispanic, and were apparently beaten, authorities said

The men have yet to be identified, authorities said.

Mateck said the bodies – one of which was soaked in blood – were clearly meant to be discovered.

“If you look at the area where they were found, they were right in middle of an open area. There are forested areas nearby and water, but they were right out in the open,” Mateck said.

Authorities said the construction workers made the discovery about 7 a.m. while arriving for their shift paving the Centennial Trail, a project being coordinated by the Cook County Forest Preserve District.

Lemont is about 20 miles southwest of Chicago.