Body Found in Lagoon Might Be Missing Illinois Woman, Police Say

Lincoln Park South Pond and Lincoln Park Zoo Nature Boardwalk in Chicago. {Alan Scott Walker. [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons}

Elgin Police in Illinois were looking into whether a body found last Saturday in a lagoon in Lincoln Park belongs to a woman who was reported missing a day earlier.

A fisherman discovered the body in a duffel bag in South Lagoon at Lincoln Park around 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, and called 911, CBS Chicago reported. When police divers and detectives arrived at the scene, they found another bag with more human remains from the same body.

While police did confirm the victim was a white woman, the victim’s identity was still not revealed as of writing on Monday, Oct. 30. Elgin police said that they are still investigating whether the body is that of Gail Peck, 76, who was reported missing on Friday.

Elgin Police said on Friday that Peck left home in the afternoon to walk her dog, but the dog returned home later without her. Her son, who lived with her, was the one who reported her missing.

The location where Peck was last seen on the 700 block of Littleton Trail on the east side of Elgin. (Screenshot Via Googlemaps)

At the time of her disappearance, police described her as 5 feet tall, black hair, with hazel eyes. Her clothing description was unknown. Peck was last seen on the 700 block of Littleton Trail on the east side of Elgin (E.Chicago St./Shales Pkwy area).

In an updated Facebook post on Monday, Oct. 30, Elgin Police announced that the disappearance was being “handled as a criminal investigation.”

“We have been speaking with her son, Brian Peck, since he initially reported her missing. Detectives have been following up on many leads since her disappearance,” the post said. “We are also working with the Chicago Police Department on the possibility that the body that was found in a lagoon area near Lincoln Park is related to this case.”

The department said that nobody has been charged in the case as of writing on Monday.

Elgin Assistant Chief Bill Wolf told the Chicago Tribune that the reports of Peck’s disappearance did not seem to be accurate.

“As the evening progressed on Friday, we received information that (Peck’s disappearance) did not occur as it was reported. The investigation suggested that what was reported may not be accurate,” Wolf told the Chicago Tribune.

Wolf also said that other information has suggested to them that the Lincoln Park remains and Peck’s disappearance may be related according to the Chicago Tribune. He did not elaborate.

Wolf said that investigators were conducting another search of Peck’s home, CBS reported. Police first searched her home earlier on Friday when she was first reported missing.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said detectives were looking through missing person reports to try and identify the body found in the lagoon.

“We can confirm that it is an adult, but the [Cook County] medical examiner is leading that investigation in terms of any other details with that. So we’ll wait until they come up with their conclusions,” Johnson told reporters.

On Sunday an autopsy was performed but was inconclusive and is pending further investigation, CBS reported.

From NTD.tv