Illinois police who started cold case podcast find submerged remains of woman last seen nearly 42 years ago

Skeletal remains found in an Illinois river have been identified as those of a young woman who went missing more than four decades ago, in a case that prompted detectives to launch their own podcast looking for answers, officials said Thursday.

Dental records confirm that remains inside a 1980 Toyota Celica, fished out of the Fox River about 40 miles northwest of Chicago, are 23-year-old Karen Schepers, Elgin police said.

“I am extremely thankful that we were able to bring Karen home to her family,” Detective Matt Vartanian said. “I greatly appreciate them putting their trust in us to find Karen.”

Schepers was last seen at about 1 a.m. on April 16, 1983, when she left a party with co-workers at P.M. Bentley’s bar in Carpentersville.

The missing case had vexed detectives for decades and the department’s cold case unit took a fresh look at it last year. That renewed effort included production of a podcast, “Somebody Knows Something,” posing various theories about her disappearance.

New research found that the nearby Fox River “had flooded and was unusually high” at that time, according to a police statement.

Police and volunteers with Chaos Divers went in on March 24 and found a Celica with license plates matching Schepers’ car, officials said. Those submerged wheels were fished out on March 25 and “a forensic pathologist confirmed the presence of skeletal human remains inside the vehicle,” police said.

Dental records proved that skeleton was Schepers, police said, though it’s still unclear how or why her car ended up in the water.

“I know that there will be many questions over these next few weeks, which will be addressed in time,” police chief Ana Lalley said. “Right now, my hope is that the focus remains on the Schepers family and the support that we all can give to them during an unimaginable time as they process the events of this week, which have been no less than extraordinary.”

Detective Andrew Houghton and Vartanian both thanked Schepers’ family and friends and volunteers for their help and belief that the missing woman would be found.

“I know that by us reopening this case, the family was taking a chance that they could be let down, and we were very sensitive to that,” Houghton said. “I also want to thank them for being open enough to allow us to do a podcast which allowed us to bring attention to Karen and her case.”