Chicago resident are still fearing a serial killer is on the loose after the remains of at least 18 people, including a young couple who died a month apart, were pulled from the waterways in the Windy City in just over a year.
Police have been quick to play down the claims but family members of some of the deceased have hired private investigators to probe the loss of their loved ones.
Twelve men and six women have been recovered from the Chicago River and Lake Michigan since March 2022, with the bodies of five men being pulled out in the last five months alone.
The most recent was restaurant worker Noah Eros, 26, whose family is raising funds to pay for their own investigation into his death.
His girlfriend, Nicole Wijs, told a vigil last week: ‘I know Noah wasn’t the first one to go missing and be found in the river, and I sure as s**t hope that he’s the last.’
The cases of young couple Natally Brookson, 22, and Daniel Sotelo, 26, have been the most baffling with the pair washing up dead in the same lake a month apart.
Twelve men and six women have been recovered from the Chicago River and Lake Michigan since March 2022
The most recent was restaurant worker Noah Eros (pictured), 26 , whose family is raising funds to pay for their own investigation into his death
Of the 18 people found dead in the waterways only two have been confirmed as suicide, three have been ruled as accidental drowning and five as drowning.
Pregnant Karina Pena Alanis was pulled from the river in April 2022, and Anthony Rucker was recovered from the same body of water in 2023, with both being ruled a suicide.
Chicago Police have not commented on the similarities between the cases, but a former FBI agent claims that it could mean that a serial killer is on the loose.
So far, four remain unidentified, with two men and a woman all found in April 2022 and another woman in May 2023.
According to Cook County Medical Examiner’s office, the number of drownings has not risen from previous years.
There were 41 in 2022, 46 in 2021 and 43 in 2020 – with 2019 seeing two homicides of the 57 recorded.
‘At this time, there is no evidence suggesting there is a connection between these drowning deaths,’ Chicago Police said in March.
‘The Chicago Police Department conducts thorough death investigations as we work to bring a measure of closure to the families of these, and all, victims.’
DailyMail.com has broken down the circumstances of each case, not including the suicides, that have been made available by authorities:
Kathleen Martin vanished from her home on West Hutchinson street in Albany Park on March 29th, with relatives reporting her missing
Kathleen Martin, 49,
Martin vanished from her home on West Hutchinson street in Albany Park on March 29th, with relatives reporting her missing.
Her body was found in the Chicago River in the Bunker Hill area of Caldwell Woods, near Milwaukee and Devon avenues, on March 31.
It is unclear how she got to the river, with officials saying there were indications her body had been in the area for some time.
Cook County Forest Preserve police are investigating the incident, and confirmed that there were no indications of trauma to the body.
Forest preserves spokesman Carl Vogel added that the investigation is not currently criminal, but there have been no updates in the case.
Unidentified man
A body was found in the Chicago River at a city forest preserve on April 12, with police saying it was linked to a missing persons investigation in Illinois.
Authorities confirmed that the body was found in the waterways close to Caldwell Woods, in the North branch of the river.
The case was handed over to Illinois State Police for a death investigation.
Yuet Tsang, 80,
Tsang’s body was pulled from the Chicago River in the South branch, near to Eleanor Street in Bridgeport on April 23.
An autopsy confirmed that her cause of death was drowning, but it is unclear how she ended up in the water.
The Chicago Police Department Marine Unit found her unresponsive, and she was pronounced dead on the scene.
Edén De La O was last seen in McKinley Park on April 3, 2022, and was reported as a missing person to Chicago Police
Unidentified woman
Another womans’ body was also recovered from the Chicago River by North Riverside Plaza near Ogilvie Station on April 23.
No further details were available regarding the identity of the woman or her cause of death.
Unidentified man
The body of a man was pulled from the water on April 23 in Lake Michigan near the 31st Street Harbor. No further details were available.
Eden De La O, 31
De La O was last seen in McKinley Park on April 3, 2022, and was reported as a missing person to Chicago Police.
He was found in the Chicago River near 41st Street and Central on May 1, with surveillance footage capturing his movements the day he vanished.
Authorities have not revealed a cause of death, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Natally Brookson, 22, was last seen leaving work on April 30 in the Budlong Woods neighborhood
Daniel Sotelo, who was dating Brookson, was found dead in Lake Michigan around a mile offshore on May 22
Natally Brookson, 22,
Brookson, 22, was last seen leaving work on April 30 in the Budlong Woods neighborhood.
The University of Illinois at Chicago student was found dead on May 2 in Lake Michigan near Bryn Mawr Avenue, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
An autopsy the next day was inconclusive, and the cause and manner of her death are still pending. She vanished at the same time as her boyfriend Daniel Sotelo.
Brookson was a senior at the UIC College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, although she had withdrawn from the spring semester, according to a university spokesperson.
Daniel Sotelo, 26,
Sotelo, who was dating Brookson, was found dead in Lake Michigan around a mile offshore on May 22.
County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed those remains were Sotelo, 26, based on dental records, and his cause of death was recorded as drowning.
He vanished in April after being seen in the 1700 block of South Racine Avenue. No other details have been released about his or Brookson’s deaths.
Hayward Brown, 34,
Emergency services were called to a repots of a person in distress in the water near East 31st Street at around 9.30pm on June 21.
Brown, 34, was recovered from the water and rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center and pronounced dead. A
Autopsy results remained pending further testing, but his death was ruled an accidental drowning.
Polish Krzysztof Szubert was reported missing on December 3 after leaving a River North Party, with an investigation launched
Officers tracked down surveillance footage showing Peter Salvino walking in the wrong direction to get home from the party.
Krzysztof Szubert, 21,
Polish Krzysztof Szubert was reported missing on December 3 after leaving a River North Party, with an investigation launched.
Video footage from Lake Shore Drive and Oak Street Beach was reviewed and officers said they witnessed Szubert on video falling into Lake Michigan.
His body was discovered on an adjacent beach on December 7, and was pulled from the water at 2am before being pronounced dead.
The medical examiner determined Szubert’s cause of death was ‘drowning with ethanol intoxication as a contributing factor,’ and the manner of death was ruled ‘accidental.’
Peter Salvino, 25,
Doctoral student Peter Salvino, 25, vanished on December 17 after parting with friends at an apartment in Lincoln Park.
His body was discovered on December 20, three days after her was reported missing, from Diversey harbor.
The medical examiner determined Salvino had ‘drown[ed] with ethanol intoxication as a contributing factor,’ and the manner was also ruled ‘accidental.’
Officers tracked down surveillance footage showing him walking in the wrong direction to get home from the party.
The video showed him walking through the parking lot of the harbor and into the lake, before traying to swim back out. Detectives believe that he may have been too intoxicated to save himself.
It is unclear why he headed to the lake in the first place.
Doctoral student Peter Salvino, 25, vanished on December 17 after parting with friends at an apartment in Lincoln Park
Joel Orduno, 24, was last seen at his Logan Square residence on February 17 before his disappearance was reported to Chicago police
Joel Orduno, 24,
Joel Orduno, 24, was last seen at his Logan Square residence on February 17 before his disappearance was reported to Chicago police.
Officers discovered his body on March 17 in the Chicago River, in the area of the 2700 block of North Leavitt.
Authorities say a death investigation in the case has been closed and the death has been classified as ‘non-criminal.’
On June 21, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office closed Orduno’s case, officially ruling the cause of death as a ‘drowning’ and the manner of death as ‘undetermined.’
Richard Garcia, 46, was reported missing from his home in South Side by his family in March and was discovered in the Chicago River close to Columbus Drive Bridge
Richard Garcia, 46,
Garcia was reported missing from his home in South Side by his family in March and was discovered in the Chicago River close to Columbus Drive Bridge.
His loved ones said he was still wearing his FedEx uniform when his remains were located on April 13.
Cook County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed that his cause and manner of death remain pending.
Unidentified woman
The Chicago Police Marine Unit responded to a report of a person in the water in the 4100-block of South Oakenwald Avenue at about 10:30 pm on May 8.
A woman in her 30s or 40s was pulled from the lake and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Authorities have not released her identity.
Police are conducting a death investigation and further details were not immediately available.
US Navy seaman Seamus Gray disappeared after leaving Ibiza Nightclub at 1.35 am on March 18 and sent his mother this picture
Seamus Gray, 21,
US Navy seaman Seamus Gray disappeared after leaving Ibiza Nightclub at 1.35 am on March 18.
He was reported missing the following day after he didn’t report back to the naval Station Great Lakes base at his scheduled 2am time.
Surveillance footage showed Gray talking to a group of people outside ethe club at around 2am, before falling to the floor.
At one point someone grabs his wallet from his pocket, before throwing it at him. Gray was then seen walking down a nearby alley.
Police say that he was kicked out of the club for being too drunk. His body was recovered on April 19 in Lake Michigan.
He had no significant injuries, and was over the legal drink driving limit, with the Lake County Coroner’s office ruling his cause of death was drowning but the manner of death was undetermined.
Noah Enos, 26, vanished on June 12 when he was last seen at The Salt Shed in the windy city with a co-worker (pictured)
At a vigil last week his girlfriend Nicole Wijs said: ‘I know Noah wasn’t the first one to go missing and be found in the river, and I sure as s**t hope that he’s the last’
Noah Enos, 26,
Noah Enos, 26, vanished on June 12 when he was last seen at The Salt Shed in the windy city with a co-worker.
The pair became separated after his phone died, and friends and family reported him missing shortly afterward.
His body was discovered in the Chicago River near the 1300 block of North Elston Avenue, though authorities are yet to announce a cause of death.
Enos’ family are calling for ‘justice for Noah’ as they believe he was killed, and a GoFundMe claims that they are raising funds for a private investigator as well as for funeral expenses.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk