Body of Missing Illinois Teen Brissa Romero Found in Retention Pond

VERNON HILLS, Ill. — The body of Brissa Romero, a teenager from Illinois who went missing last week, has been discovered in a retention pond in Vernon Hills, a northern Chicago suburb. The Lake County Coroner’s Office has identified the 17-year-old’s death as accidental.

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Divers from the Lake County Coroner’s Office retrieved Romero’s body from the water on Tuesday, shortly before 12:30 p.m. CST, according to WLS-TV.

Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek confirmed that an autopsy was conducted on Wednesday morning, as reported by the Lake & McHenry County Scanner.

The search-and-recovery operation was led by the Countryside Fire Protection District after Romero’s 2008 Nissan Rogue was found approximately 60 feet from the pond’s bank, the Chicago Tribune stated.

According to the police, Romero was on her way to a holiday party in Vernon Hills on December 4th. It is believed that she drove through a T-intersection and ended up in the 2-acre lake, which has a depth of approximately 60 feet, the newspaper reported.

The party was organized by Raising Cane’s, the fast-food restaurant chain where Romero was employed, according to the Tribune. Her cell phone data was last detected near the pond area, the police added.

In a joint news release, the Carpentersville and Vernon Hills police departments stated, “Video from a nearby fast food restaurant taken shortly before the phone’s last communication with area cell towers suggests Brissa was driving at the time, and there is currently no indication of foul play.”

The initial autopsy report revealed that Romero had no significant injuries, and her cause of death was consistent with drowning, WMAQ-TV reported.

While the family had hoped for a different outcome, the discovery of Romero’s vehicle and backpack in the pond on Monday was a tragic indication, according to the Tribune.

“Based on the condition of the vehicle and all the evidence we have at this point, it appears that Brissa was in that vehicle when it drove into the lake,” stated Vernon Hills Police Chief Patrick Kreis during a news conference held on Monday evening with Carpentersville Police Chief Todd Shaver, according to the newspaper.

Romero, the youngest of five siblings, had recently graduated from Barrington High School, as reported by WFLD-TV. She was attending Harper College and studying to become a sonogram nurse. To support her education, she was working two jobs.