Remains Identified As Missing Woman From 1983 Cold Case: Elgin Police

ELGIN, IL — Skeletal remains that were found in a car pulled from the Fox River Tuesday were identified as those of Karen Schepers, the Kane County Coroner's Office confirmed Thursday. The discovery brings some answers to a case that had remained unsolved since Schepers' disappeared in 1983.

In a post shared on Facebook, Elgin police said a forensic odontologist used Schepers' dental records to make the identification.

Nonetheless, police say the investigation remains "active and open."

Schepers was last seen early April 16, 1983, after she went out with coworkers in celebration of a recent promotion at her job. Her car had initially been spotted in the Fox River near Slade Avenue Park in 2022, but was misidentified as a different type of vehicle.

On Monday, Chaos Divers used sonar technology to find a yellow 1980 Toyota Celica, license plate, XP8919 that matched the one Schepers had been driving, just northwest of the Slade Avenue Park boat launch.

The car was pulled from the River Tuesday and the Kane County Coroner's Office confirmed "human skeletal remains" were inside the vehicle

In a statement Thursday night, Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley said,

“On behalf of the Elgin Police Department, I wish to convey my heartfelt appreciation to the Schepers family for allowing us to re-open this investigation and their belief in us to bring Karen home. It has been a privilege and honor to be able to provide what I hope will be a sense of closure and as I have said many times, a sense of peace to the family. I know that there will be many questions over these next few weeks, which will be addressed in time. 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. I have been in contact with the Schepers family who will be releasing a statement in the near future and I ask that they be allowed the privacy and space to begin their healing process.”