The Kane County coroner on Thursday positively identified the remains of Karen Schepers, an Elgin woman who went missing in 1983.
Schepers vanished 42 years ago after a night out with friends in Carpentersville. Her 1980 yellow Toyota Celica was recovered from the Fox River on Tuesday by the Elgin police and fire departments and Chaos Divers. The car contained human skeletal remains.
A press release from the Kane County Coroner’s office said identification of the remains was made using a forensic odontologist along with dental records provided by the Schepers family.
The Schepers case was the first active investigation for the police department’s newly formed Cold Case Unit. It was also the subject of the department’s “Somebody Knows Something” podcast.
Cold case detectives Andrew Haughton and Matt Vartanian worked with Chaos Divers as the group searched the river on Monday using sonar. The car was found just north of the Slade Avenue boat launch in about seven feet of water.
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