ELGIN, Ill. (WGN) — Police in Elgin, Illinois, have confirmed that remains found within a car submerged in the Fox River have been positively identified as Karen Schepers, a 23-year-old who went missing nearly 42 years ago.
Schepers and her Toyota Celica went missing around 1 a.m. on April 16, 1983, after leaving a Carpentersville bar following a night out with co-workers in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
After initial leads dried up and no new information came in during the original investigation into Schepers’ disappearance, her case was moved to inactive. Over the decades, new looks were taken by other law enforcement agencies as time went by.
The Illinois State Police revisited Schepers’ case in the late 1980s. Years later, the Elgin Police Department (EPD) said advancements in forensic science led to another review of her case in 2010 — but again — the investigation dried up.
Schepers’ case wasn’t revisited for another 14 years. In May 2024, EPD created their Cold Case Unit and five months later, they reopened Schepers’ missing person’s case.
It was shortly after this point EPD Chief Ana Lalley empowered detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian to launch “Somebody Knows Something: The Elgin Police Cold Case Podcast." Their first episode debuted on Jan. 20 of this year, hoping to renew interest and spark new leads as they documented their investigation into Schepers’ decades-old disappearance case.
In the podcast’s introductory episode, Houghton and Vartanian laid out six theories they planned to investigate, with a search of local bodies of water being the final theory they planned to dive into as they revisited Schepers’ disappearance.
As their investigation progressed and podcast episodes dropped, searching local waterways became an increasingly pivotal part of their look into Schepers’ case. They also considered evidence that the Fox River flooded and water levels in the Elgin area were unusually high around the time that Schepers went missing.
This gave credence to the idea Schepers’ 1980 Toyota Celica may be submerged somewhere along the Fox River, leading EPD to bump up a water search strategy ahead of other theories they previously planned to explore.
Enter a nonprofit organization known as Chaos Divers.
EPD partnered with Chaos Divers to search an extensive swath of the Fox River. On March 24 near a boat launch, divers were able to locate a vehicle submerged in the river with a license plate that read, “XP8919,” which matched the license plate of Schepers’ Celica.
A day later, emergency crews removed the vehicle from the Fox River and transported it to the Kane County Coroner’s Office for further examination. On Wednesday, March 26, the office confirmed there were human remains inside the car pulled from the Fox River. The following day, they identified the remains as Schepers.
After this breakthrough, Schepers' family released a statement thanking the Elgin Police, the divers, and the investigators and listeners of the "Somebody Knows Something" podcast.
Their full statement can be found below:
“We would like to thank the Elgin Police Department - especially Chief Lalley, Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian and retired Officer Mike Gough for their dedication to the Cold Case program that brought Karen back to us after so many years.
"As we each heard the news that her car was found, time stopped while we drew an audible gasp. When it started back up again, our lives took a new path that finally included the answer to 'Where is Karen?' This question has been haunting all who knew Karen for many years. She was a young, independent, accomplished trailblazer with a very bright future. She has been missed and will continue to be missed by those of us who loved her. We believe she has been watching as God's hand guided all of the events of her coming home. An incredible miracle happened through the skills, intelligence, and compassion of all involved.
"We also want to extend a special 'thank you' to the team of Chaos Divers: Jacob, Lindsay, and Mike. Their expertise enabled such a complete recovery of Karen and her personal effects that very likely could have been lost to the river if the recovery had been completed any other way.
"Thank you to the listeners of the Somebody Knows Something podcast, those who’ve connected with Karen’s story, and everyone behind the scenes of both the investigation and recovery. Words cannot begin to convey how grateful we are to everyone involved.
"We hope for continued success on each and every cold case. Miracles do happen.
"Our family, especially our mother, Liz, is overwhelmed by the care and concern of so many thousands that have followed this case. We very much appreciate the love of friends and family and the prayers for our beloved Karen.”