Body Recovered from Pond in Vernon Hills

Crews have recovered a body from a pond in Vernon Hills, one day after finding the car of a missing Carpentersville girl from the water.

Divers in Vernon Hills pulled a body from the water of a pond near Lakeview and Executive parkways around 1:15 p.m. Tuesday amid the search for 17-year-old Brissa Romero, who has been missing for eight days. A team of 14 sonar techs using three boats were searching the pond on Tuesday before the body was found.

Police have said they believe Brissa Romero was in her Nissan Rogue when it went into the pond. The body found on Tuesday has not yet been definitively identified by the Lake County Coroner's Office, but police said the body matches Brissa's description, and her phone last pinged near that pond on the day she went missing.

Missing Woman Found in Pond

Authorities have discovered the car of Brissa, who went missing on December 4. The car was found submerged in a retention pond in Vernon Hills.

Brissa was last seen heading to a bowling alley in Vernon Hills for a holiday party, but she never arrived. After a week of searching, search teams were led to the pond by analyzing Brissa's cell phone data.

The investigation began when a witness reported seeing a backpack floating on the edge of the pond. The backpack was later confirmed to belong to Brissa. Additional crews were called in to search the area, and her car was eventually located in the water.

The car was pulled out of the pond in the afternoon. According to police, the vehicle traveled about 60 feet into the pond and sank in an area approximately 20 feet deep. Based on the condition of the car, authorities believe that Brissa was inside when it went into the water.

Surveillance footage from a nearby fast food restaurant showed Brissa entering and leaving the establishment alone. She was then seen driving away about 15 minutes before her cell phone last pinged near the pond.

The search for Brissa, who has been missing for several days, continues as authorities focus their efforts on a pond in Vernon Hills. Despite not finding any evidence of Brissa in the vehicle found near the pond, police believe it is necessary to thoroughly search the area. Vernon Hills Police Chief Patrick Kreis stated, "Even though we have not found Brissa in this vehicle at this point, it's our belief that we need to continue to search this pond, and that is really the sole efforts of our search at this point."

The pond is located near the intersection of Lakeview Parkway and Executive Parkway. Investigators suspect that Brissa may have been unfamiliar with the area and accidentally drove into the pond instead of turning right or left at the T-intersection. The vehicle will be towed to the Vernon Hills Police Department for further examination.

Although the search was temporarily suspended, it is set to resume on Tuesday morning. Brissa's sister, Dulce Romero, expressed gratitude towards the police and volunteers for their ongoing efforts. She stated, "I do want to say thank you for everyone that has been keeping up with Brissa's story. We have been able to get so many people's eyes on this, and get so much help from a lot of people from a lot of countries, actually, to help spread the word of Brissa. In my heart, I still believe that she's out there, but for now we'll just keep investigating, and we will find her."

The search on Monday followed a vigil held by Brissa's loved ones on Sunday night.

"It's just strange, the fact that a vehicle and a person vanished out of thin air," said her older sister, Dulce.

Brissa had gone over to her cousin's house in Des Plaines on Dec. 4. Dulce said, from there, Brissa left to go to a holiday party at Bowlero in Vernon Hills at around 7 p.m., and during that ride, communication with Brissa suddenly stopped.

"Nothing was coming through. None of our cousins, none of her friends, none of our family could reach her, nothing was ringing. And it was concerning. We were like, 'This is strange,'" Dulce said.

Investigators informed the family that security cameras at the bowling alley did not capture Brissa entering the venue, confirming that she never arrived at the party.

Brissa's family has also released surveillance footage of her at work, grabbing her iPad before she would have been on her way to the bowling alley.

The family is appealing to the public for assistance; if anyone was in the area at the time and has surveillance footage or may have witnessed something unusual, they are urged to come forward.

"If you own any businesses in the area, we would appreciate seeing your recordings, and maybe we can spot something," Dulce said.