Body Found In Lake Michigan Identified As Missing Pregnant Woman

WAUKEGAN, IL — The body found in Lake Michigan a few miles away from Waukegan Harbor on Aug. 15 has been identified. Dental records confirmed the identity of Yarianna Wheeler, 19, who most recently lived in Chicago and is originally from west suburban Bellwood, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Wheeler was 6-7 months pregnant at the time of her death, according to previous reports from the sheriff's office.

A fisherman discovered her body floating in the water in a pink summer dress about three miles southeast of Waukegan Harbor, nearest the shore in Lake Forest, on the afternoon of Aug. 15, sheriff's office spokesperson Lt. Chris Covelli said earlier.

Wheeler's death is being investigated as a homicide, police said. Her autopsy, performed when authorities knew Wheeler only as "Lake Michigan Jane Doe," showed she had several sharp force injuries on her body, according to police.

Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek told Patch before Wheeler was identified that an autopsy conducted the day after the body was retrieved from the lake showed evidence of drowning and multiple lacerations. The cause and manner of her death have yet to be released.

Police believe Wheeler was in the water for anywhere between seven and 12 days before her body was recovered. The body could have entered the water anywhere from the northern Indiana shoreline to the northern Illinois shoreline of Lake Michigan, authorities said earlier.

UPDATE: Man Charged With Murdering Pregnant Woman Found In Lake Michigan