Karen Schepers: Remains in submerged car confirmed as Illinois woman missing since 1983
The Brief
The Kane County Coroner's Office confirmed the remains found in a vehicle pulled from the Fox River belong to Karen Schepers.
Schepers vanished in 1983 after leaving a Carpentersville bar.
Authorities acknowledge a missed opportunity in 2022 when the vehicle was first detected but not investigated further.
ELGIN, Ill. - More than 40 years after Karen Schepers vanished without a trace, authorities have confirmed that skeletal remains found in her submerged car in the Fox River belong to the missing woman.
What we know
The Kane County Coroner's Office officially notified police on Thursday that forensic odontologists matched the remains to Schepers using dental records provided by her family.
Schepers, who was 23 at the time of her disappearance, was last seen leaving PM Bentley's bar in Carpentersville on April 16, 1983. Her yellow 1980 Toyota Celica, which also went missing, was recovered from the Fox River earlier this week by Chaos Divers, an independent search and rescue team assisting the Elgin Police Department's Cold Case Unit.
The discovery marks a major break in the decades-old case, offering closure to Schepers' family while raising new questions about how her vehicle ended up in the river.
Authorities also revealed that Schepers' vehicle was unknowingly detected nearly three years ago.
In 2022, a fisherman using sonar equipment near the Slade Avenue boat launch spotted an unusual object in the river and reported it to the Elgin Fire Department. A dive team investigated and located what appeared to be a small vehicle but mistakenly identified it as an all-terrain or utility-task vehicle. No further search was conducted.
Elgin Fire Chief Robb Cagann acknowledged the mistake, stating, "Upon careful review, I concluded that more should have been done in 2022, including a comprehensive underwater examination of the vehicle."
Since then, the fire department has updated its dive team leadership and protocols to prevent similar oversights.
What's next
While the positive identification provides long-awaited answers, many questions remain.
Investigators are still determining how Schepers' car ended up in the river and whether foul play was involved.
The Elgin Police Department continues to treat the case as an active investigation.
The Source
The information in this article was provided by the Kane County Coroner's Office, Elgin Police Department, and Elgin Fire Department. FOX 32's Kasey Chronis also reported on this story.
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