A significant breakthrough in a decades-old cold case has led to the discovery of human remains in a vehicle pulled from the Fox River Tuesday. Jenn Schanz has breaking details.
A significant breakthrough in a decades-old cold case has led to the discovery of human remains in a vehicle pulled from the Fox River Tuesday.
According to Elgin police, the Kane County Coroner’s Office discovered skeletal remains inside of a 1980 Toyota Celica that was discovered in the river on Monday, moving one step closer to closure for a suburban family who has sought answers for decades.
Karen Schepers was 23 years old when she disappeared in April 1983 after a night out with coworkers. Schepers had left a bar in Carpentersville with coworkers, and was never seen again.
This weekend, Elgin police announced they would search the Fox River near Slade Avenue Park. They discovered a license plate that belonged to Schepers’ vehicle, and then were able to find the vehicle itself, removing it from the river on Tuesday.
The vehicle was then transported to the Kane County Coroner’s Office, where a forensic pathologist detected skeletal remains.
The next step in the process will be to confirm that the skeletal remains are those of Schepers, with DNA testing and potential dental records matching the next steps for investigators.
Her brother Gary, speaking to NBC Chicago on Tuesday night before the announcement was made, said that the discovery of the vehicle represents the culmination of decades of uncertainty.
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"I've spent four decades wanting answers and now I have one,” he said.
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Gary Schepers described the lack of answers in the case as “butting your head up against” a wall, but that search for answers has now reached a potential conclusion.
"You kind of feel like your feet aren't quite on the ground because you've gone for so long butting your head up against no answers and now there's a crack in that wall and you really don't know what's going to happen when that wall comes down,” he said.
The case was launched back into the spotlight when the Elgin Police Department profiled the disappearance on a podcast entitled “Somebody Knows Something.” Detectives reexamined theories in the case, which resulted in a search of the Fox River.
Elgin firefighters and a group called Chaos Divers utilized sonar technology to comb the river for the vehicle, which they found Monday afternoon.
According to the podcast, police indicated there was no record of any search for the vehicle in the water in the 1980s, despite the Fox River and several nearby ponds potentially being on Karen’s route home from the bar she was last seen at.
Gary Schepers isn’t sure why those steps weren’t taken, but is grateful that the search for answers may finally be nearing its conclusion.
“I don’t know the answer. I don’t think the current detectives know the answer,” he said.
