ILLINOIS STATE POLICE SEEKS THE PUBLIC’S ASSISTANCE WITH IDENTIFYING AN UNKNOWN DECEASED FEMALE WHO WAS DISCOVERED IN THE SKOKIE RIVER IN 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2025
February 6, 2025
DES PLAINES – Illinois State Police (ISP) Division of Criminal Investigations Zone 1 continues to investigate the death of an unidentified woman from 2003 and are seeking the public’s assistance to identify her.
On Saturday, July 12, 2003, a deceased human body was discovered floating in the Skokie River (approx. 1/4 mile south of Willow Road in the Erickson Woods / Skokie Lagoons area of Northfield and Winnetka, Illinois). The body was located south of Lagoon No. 1 and south of the Dam on the Skokie River, not far from the N. Branch Trail System (see photo of approximate discovery site below). Upon removal from the water, it was discovered the deceased was a female, (unknown race), partially clothed.
Information from the autopsy provided the following identifying information:
Sex: Female
Race: Unknown (possibly White, Hispanic, or Asian)
Estimated age at time of discovery: 20-39 years old (estimated year of birth 1964-1983) (the woman would be 42-61 years old if she were alive today in 2025)
HGT: 502
WGT: 147 (living weight estimated at 100-150lbs)
Hair: Black or dark colored, long, straight
Dental: Dental care was good with only one amalgam restoration (metal filling), and a maxillary four-unit fixed porcelain metal bridge replacing two missing central incisors which were well healed (bridge for two missing, upper front teeth). The dental replacement may have happened as a result of a traumatic injury earlier in the person's life.
Clothing: Black Lycra shorts (bicyclist-style shorts).
Jewelry: Scorpion ring (see photo below)
If anyone has any information regarding a missing person matching the description of this unidentified person, or has any other information which may be helpful, we ask that they send us a tip using this web link https://isptips.illinois.gov/content/soi/isp-tips/en/investigations/20250206-desplaines.html or please contact ISP Troop 3 at 847-294-4400.
Photo of approximate location where the body was discovered floating in the Skokie River. Approximately ¼ mile south of Willow Road in the Northfield or Winnetka, Illinois area, south of Lagoon No. 1 and near the N. Branch Trail Systems, near Erickson Woods / Skokie Lagoons.
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