Skeletal stays present in an Illinois river have been positively recognized as a younger lady who went lacking greater than 4 a long time in the past, a cold case that prompted police to launch a podcast in search of solutions.
The recognized stays had been discovered inside a automotive that was pulled from the Fox River, roughly 30 kilometres from Chicago, final week. Elgin police stated the stays are these of Karen Schepers, who was final seen in April of 1983. She was 23 when she disappeared.
In line with Chicago’s WGN9, Schepers and her yellow Toyota Celica went lacking round 1 a.m. on April 16, 1983, after leaving a bar following a night out with co-workers.
The case ran chilly, nevertheless, after preliminary leads dried up and no new info turned accessible. Within the greater than 40 years since she disappeared, detectives have continued to look into the case, however nothing turned up.
In Could of final yr, nevertheless, the Elgin Police Division created a Chilly Case Unit and reopened Scheper’s lacking particular person case. Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian got the inexperienced gentle to begin the Somebody Knows Something: The Elgin Police Cold Case Podcast, dedicating their first episode, which aired on Jan. 20 of this yr, to Schepers’ case.
The detectives spoke to Schepers’ buddies for the podcast and laid out a number of theories that would clarify her disappearance, together with:
– She made the choice to depart her previous life behind, beginning over in a brand new place
– She died by suicide
– She was kidnapped or killed by any individual on her method dwelling
– She was in an accident on the drive dwelling
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Set on exploring all theories for the podcast, the detectives made the choice to look native waterways first, noting that water ranges within the Fox River had been unusually excessive on the time of Schepers’ disappearance.
Police labored with an Illinois group, often known as Chaos Divers, to find and discover “a number of websites of curiosity” utilizing sonar know-how.
On March 24, a diver located Schepers’ car within the Fox River, police confirmed in an replace. Dental information proved the stays found contained in the automobile had been the lacking lady, though police say it’s nonetheless unclear how or why her automotive ended up within the water.
Schepers’ household shared an announcement, writing “miracles do happen” and thanking the group and Elgin police for serving to carry closure to the case.
“As we every heard the information that her automotive was discovered, time stopped whereas we drew an audible gasp. When it began again up once more, our lives took a brand new path that lastly included the reply to ‘The place is Karen?’” the assertion stated.
“This query has been haunting all who knew Karen for a few years. She was a younger, unbiased, completed trailblazer with a really brilliant future. She has been missed and can proceed to be missed by these of us who beloved her.
“Thanks to the listeners of the Someone Is aware of One thing podcast, those that’ve related with Karen’s story, and everybody behind the scenes of each the investigation and restoration. Phrases can’t start to convey how grateful we’re to everybody concerned.”
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