Tragic news has been reported out of Vernon Hills, Illinois, concerning the disappearance of a Carpentersville teen. On Tuesday, authorities report that a female body was found in a pond near Lakeview Parkway and Executive Way that matches the description of the missing teenager, Brissa Romero.
Romero, a 17-year-old high school student, had gone missing on December 4 while travelling to a work holiday party at Bowlero in Vernon Hills. Her vehicle, a gray 2008 Nissan Rogue with an Illinois license plate number CZ64618 and a sticker of a black coyote, was discovered in the same pond by an area resident on Monday.
According to authorities, new cell phone data analysis led officers investigating the disappearance of Romero to the pond the day before. Video footage from a nearby fast food restaurant taken shortly before the phone’s last communication with area cell towers suggests that Romero was driving her car when it seemingly went off the road and into the pond.
The investigation is still ongoing, but police have stated that “there is currently no indication of foul play” and it appears to have been an accident. Romero’s backpack was also found in the pond, confirming her presence there.
The disappearance of Romero has been a source of immense grief for her family and friends. “One thing about our family, we all share our locations with our parents,” Romero’s mother Jocelyn Rubi Romero said in an interview last week. “She called my mom at 6:55 p.m. and said she was on the way over here, and my mom kept looking at her location, and she was heading over here, but around the time that she arrived, she did not call my mom.”
Surveillance cameras from a Schaumburg shop also captured the teen before she went missing, with the last image of her recorded around 7 p.m.
In a statement, the Carpentersville and Vernon Hills Police Departments thanked the Romero family, friends, and members of the community for their efforts in helping to bring awareness to the case. They also thanked the men and women of both departments for their relentless dedication in trying to bring the teen’s safe return.
Romero was remembered by her family and friends as a flourishing young student and a spirit of optimism for those around her. Despite such bad news, the investigation will continue until the full truth of the matter is revealed.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Brissa Romero’s family and friends as they deal with this tremendous loss.
