Episode 8: The Dive

Summary

Somebody Knows Something: Episode 8 – The Dive

Introduction to the Breakthrough

In Episode 8, titled "The Dive," of the Somebody Knows Something: The Elgin Police Cold Case Podcast, Detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian detail a pivotal moment in the longstanding investigation into the disappearance of Karen Schepers. Karen vanished on April 16, 1983, along with her canary yellow 1980 Toyota Celica after an evening out with co-workers. Now, after over four decades, a significant breakthrough brings hope for closure.

March 24, 2025: An Extensive Search Without Results

The episode begins with Detectives Houghton and Vartanian recounting their exhaustive search efforts on March 24, 2025. Partnering with Chaos Divers, an Illinois-based nonprofit specializing in underwater recoveries, the team scoured nearly five nautical miles of the Fox River. Despite using advanced sonar technology and enduring harsh conditions—40-degree water temperatures and visibility below six inches—they located two vehicles. However, both were quickly dismissed:

• First Vehicle: Identified by a similar headlamp to Karen's car but deemed a debris field after multiple dives. (02:53)

  "One vehicle initially seemed promising with a headlamp that was similar to Karen's car. But after multiple dives on that car... it was not Karen's car." – Detective Matt Vartanian [02:53]

• Second Vehicle: The color and size did not match Karen's Toyota Celica, leading to its dismissal. (05:56)

Despite the lack of findings, the team remained undeterred, emphasizing their commitment to finding Karen and offering gratitude to Chaos Divers for their unwavering support.

A Stroke of Luck: Discovering Karen’s Car

As the team prepared to conclude their search for the day, fate intervened. Deciding to revisit the initial dive sites, Jacob Grubbs and Lindsey Busick from Chaos Divers spotted a third vehicle approximately 150 to 160 feet west of the eastern shoreline. This time, it was unmistakably Karen’s car:

"Once a vehicle is located, it takes skilled divers with experience... from Dynamite to Hill." – Detective Matt Vartanian [05:56]

At [07:10], Detective Houghton describes the electrifying moment:

"I can't even describe what it was like. When Mike broke through the surface and held up that license plate... we thought we saw an X and a P... XP8919." – Detective Andrew Houghton [07:10]

The detection team immediately recognized the license plate as Karen's, marking the first time the car had resurfaced after 42 years.

Recovery and Coordination with the Family

Upon confirming the vehicle's identity, Detectives Houghton and Vartanian swiftly informed Karen's sister, Susan, who accompanied them to Sycamore to relay the heart-wrenching news to the family. The emotional reunion underscored the profound impact of the discovery:

"Liz is just an amazing, strong woman... finding this car and human remains for her and her family have just been really such an honor and a privilege for both of us." – Detective Matt Vartanian [10:49]

The detectives emphasized the family's resilience and the deep gratitude they felt towards Liz, Karen's 90-year-old mother, who had tirelessly sought answers for decades.

Ensuring the Integrity of the Crime Scene

Recognizing the significance of the find, the Elgin Police Department treated the recovered vehicle as an active crime scene. Comprehensive measures were undertaken to secure and process the evidence, including drone surveillance, photographic documentation, and 3D scanning. Detective Matt Vartanian highlighted the meticulous approach:

"We wanted to treat this car like a crime scene until proven otherwise." – Detective Matt Vartanian [13:33]

The coordination extended to multiple departments, ensuring that every step adhered to forensic standards to preserve the integrity of the investigation.

Extraction and Identification of Human Remains

The extraction of Karen's Toyota Celica from the Fox River was a meticulously planned operation. With the assistance of Redmond's Towing and Chaos Divers, the vehicle was carefully hoisted out of the water on March 25, 2025. Detective Houghton shared the intense moments leading up to the extraction:

"We spent several tense minutes slowly and methodically sliding the car toward the shoreline... Karen's canary yellow 1980 Toyota Celica broke the muddy surface of the Fox River." – Detective Andrew Houghton [20:48]

Upon retrieval, forensic pathologist Dr. Monica Silva and her team from the Kane County Coroner's Office confirmed the presence of human remains inside the vehicle. The detectives detailed the final steps of the identification process:

"Dr. Hilary McElligott confirmed that there were human remains inside Karen's car." – Detective Matt Vartanian [22:05]

Further forensic analysis, including dental record comparisons by Dr. David Wold, conclusively identified the remains as Karen Schepers':

"They were a perfect match." – Detective Matt Vartanian [25:09]

Emotional Closure and Moving Forward

The culmination of the investigation brought an end to a painful chapter for Karen’s family. Detective Houghton recounted the final moments with Liz and Gary:

"Being able to tell the family, Liz especially, that after all her hard work... helped us finally find Karen." – Detective Andrew Houghton [23:22]

Detectives Houghton and Vartanian reflected on the emotional gravity of the case, acknowledging that while closure was achieved, the journey had left an indelible mark on all involved.

Looking Ahead: Final Steps and Future Cases

As the season nears its conclusion, the detectives hinted at upcoming episodes focusing on Chaos Divers and the final procedures of the case:

"We still have some work to do and we still have some answers that we want to try to provide for the family." – Detective Andrew Houghton [25:09]

They expressed plans to document the remaining investigative steps and share reflections from the family, solidifying the podcast’s commitment to transparency and community engagement.

Conclusion and Call to Action

Chief Anna Lally concluded the episode with a heartfelt appeal for ongoing community support in solving cold cases:

"If you or anyone you know has information about this case or any other cold case in Elgin, please contact the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit..." – Chief Anna Lally [26:41]

Listeners were encouraged to stay engaged and assist in uncovering truths for other unresolved cases within the Elgin community.

Final Thoughts

Episode 8 of Somebody Knows Something masterfully intertwines meticulous investigative detail with poignant human stories, highlighting the relentless pursuit of justice by the Elgin Police Cold Case Unit. Through collaboration with specialized teams like Chaos Divers and unwavering community support, the podcast not only uncovers lost truths but also restores hope to families yearning for answers.

Transcript

[Narrator]

This podcast is based on information sourced primarily from police and media reports, but certain names and other identifying details may have been changed or altered for privacy and security reasons. While the events and cases discussed are based on real investigations, some aspects may be simplified for time and for narrative purposes. Voice actors have been used to read from statements or documents. All information presented is intended solely to inform and raise awareness. Hosts may discuss theories regarding the cases examined in this podcast, but such discussions are not intended to and should not be considered by the listener to be legal. Conclusions all persons discussed are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Listener discretion is advised.

[Chief Anna Lally]

This is Chief Anna Lally. Welcome to Somebody Knows Something, a podcast from the Elgin Police Department's Cold Case Unit. In this podcast, we will shed new light on cold cases in the City of Elgin by sharing untold details and by encouraging anyone with information to come forward. You will come along with real cold case detectives as they investigate active cold cases in real time and seek justice for the victims and closure for their families. We believe that the Elgin Police Department and our community can work together to bring closure to cold cases because we know that in these cases, somebody knows something.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

Welcome to the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Podcast. Somebody Knows Something. I'm Detective Andrew Houghton.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

And I'm Detective Matt Vortanian. This season we have spent the last seven episodes discussing the case of Karen Shepers, who disappeared along with her canary yellow 1980 Toyota Celica on April 16th of 1983. And in this episode we are going to detail a massive break in this case.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

That's right, Matt. This episode is a really special one for us, for Karen's family, and for the entire community of Elgin and surrounding communities. I know that last episode our listeners came along with us as we identified the routes that Karen Sheepers would have likely taken on April 16th of 1983 if she did leave PM Bentley's bar and head either home or to her boyfriend Terry's house. We drove those routes under nearly identical conditions and we identified multiple bodies of water along both routes. Because we had no record of any extensive water searches, we felt it was important not only to use the best equipment, but but also to get a group of expert divers in sonar, diving, recovery and extraction of vehicles, specifically vehicles which might contain human remains as we sought to finally bring Karen home.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

Obviously finding a vehicle in a body of water, especially one that might contain human remains, was a huge step. But once a vehicle is located, it takes skilled divers with experience to navigate currents, the visibility and potentially dangerous conditions to confirm, assess and Then finally remove that vehicle from the water. We wanted to be prepared to remove any vehicle we found in a manner that kept it as intact as possible as well. So the team we needed had to have extensive experience not only locating and assessing a vehicle, but also removing it as well. From the beginning, our goal has always been to find Karen, not just her car. We even had a deputy coroner from the Kane County Coroner's Office, Gabby Allison, out with us for the duration of our entire search in the event that we did locate any remains so that we could get the ball rolling immediately if we found anything.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

As it turns out, we found the exact team that we needed in an Illinois based non profit group called Chaos Divers. We're going to talk about them extensively in our next episode. But before we even get into the nuts and bolts of what happened this week, Matt, we both want to thank them for everything they did in this case. We can't express our thanks to them enough. Their expertise was crucial for this investigation. To Jacob Grubbs, Lindsey Busick and Mike McFerrin, we owe you a debt. We can never repay you. So thank you, thank you, thank you for everything that you were able to do on this case. You all deserve a huge amount of credit for this case. And we would not have been able to have the outcome we did without the professionalism, resources, experience and the toughness of your entire team.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

Yeah, absolutely. I second that. Just a huge thank you to you guys out there from Chaos Divers. Our entire experience with you guys at Chaos Divers, from planning to execution to all the post action stuff has just been truly amazing. You guys are really awesome people. I think we are just still both in a state of shock with just how awesome and just professional you guys are and what you guys do. Well, after spending all day on the river on March 24, 2025 with Chaos Diversity, we were quite honestly feeling pretty deflated. We had literally scanned from the Kimball Street Dam in the south to just south of Illinois Route 72 in the north. That is nearly five nautical miles of river. And to completely scan the entire riverbed was an all day project on the boat during the search, we found two vehicles throughout the day and Mike McFerrin, the diver for our our search, dove them multiple times in water that was around 40 degrees with less than 6 inches of visibility. One vehicle initially seemed promising with a headlamp that was similar to Karen's car. But after multiple dives on that car, Mike told us that it was basically a debris field and with other pieces that he was able to recover. We were able to conclusively say it was not Karen's car. The second vehicle was also clearly not her vehicle. Based on the pieces that Mike could find. And the color and the size of that second car. That car, like the first, was also not intact.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

That was when we got lucky or had divine intervention or whatever you want to call it. We headed back to the launch site to leave, Even calling our command post to tell him we thought we were almost done for the day. And that Matt and I needed someone to come pick us up. As we traveled south from the I90 bridge, Jacob, who was driving the boat, and Lindsay, who was using the sonar equipment along with him, Both decided we needed to circle back in the same area where Mike had dove on the first two cars. They just wanted to be sure one last time that we weren't missing anything. We had found a pipe, a large tractor tire, and other debris that they had tagged. So we basically went back and rechecked each item before we left. That's when Jacob saw something else. About 150 to 160ft west of the eastern shoreline in the fox river. He and Lindsey confirmed that it was a vehicle on its roof. And it was absolutely a smaller car, Making it our third vehicle today. This time we found exactly what we've been searching for from the beginning of this investigation.

[Mike McFerrin]

We have covered from the Kimball street dam all the way up to, basically Route 72. We have found three cars today, two of which we have wheeled out. And the third one we are working on now. Diver is back up.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

So he's got a license plate off here. You know, Matt, I can't even describe what it was like. When Mike broke through the surface and held up that license plate. We were both in the back of the boat, maybe 40ft away. And we could see the plate upside down and in reverse. We kind of looked at each other. And I think we both knew that. We thought we saw an X and a P on that plate. So we literally ran to the front of the boat. Then Mike read the plate out loud to us and handed it to you. I looked down at the mud covered plate. And we both visually confirmed it. And that license plate was the one that we knew by heart. XP8919.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

919.

[Mike McFerrin]

Yeah, I think that's it.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

XP19.

[Mike McFerrin]

Yes, that's our car.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

As soon as I saw the X.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

So.

[Mike McFerrin]

We do have a plate. It is X, x Ray P, Paul8919.x Paul8919. That is her car. He says it is A yellow vehicle. So I think we got it.

[Jacob Grubbs]

Yeah.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

I mean, there was definitely some giddiness, right? It was like, you see the plate, and you're like, wait, is I see an X, I see a P, I see some eights. And I'm like. We looked at each other. We're like, yeah, that's. That's it, right? That's the plate. Once we got the plate to the shore, we confirmed the plate one more time, because I think we just both kind of needed that second, you know, double confirmation. I mean, quite honestly, we were both still kind of in a state of shock, I think. Then we immediately called Susan, Karen's sister.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

Matt and I had coordinated with Liz, Gary, Dale, and Susan prior to this dive, and. And they knew when we were diving and that maybe potentially all week. We had decided that our plan was to call and talk to Liz every night at the end of each day. That way, if we called her, it would just be a preplanned routine. Liz is 90 and has been waiting for nearly 42 years to find out this information. We didn't want to call her and have it be some false sense of hope or something like that, so we wanted to tell her in person. When we actually found something, we coordinated.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

With Susan and decided that if we recovered anything, our plan was to call Susan and tell her so that she could travel out with us to Sycamore and we could all meet in person to tell Liz that we had found her daughter's car. When we called Susan and broke the news, I think it was a mix of both shock and relief. As you can imagine, she was very emotional. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for her and her family. But hopefully, through this investigation, we can finally give them some answers and some closure.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

Yeah, I can't even describe what the day was like for all of them and for us. I, um. Susan let Liz know that we wanted to talk to her and just fill the family in on kind of the first day of the search. We kind of tried to soft sell it to her, I guess, basically. And so we all drove out to Sycamore. When we arrived, Susan told us that Liz was cleaning the kitchen and doing some dishes because she knew she had some guests arriving and she wanted the house to be presentable. I just have to say that Liz has been just amazing to us. The whole family has been. They really make you feel like part of the family. I mean, our last visit, Liz sent Matt and I both home with some of her famous Blarney stones that she makes every march for her friends and family. They're small pieces of pound cake that she bakes and frosts and then rolls and peanuts using a hand grinder that she's had for years. Liz made these for Karen when Karen was a kid and made them even before Karen was born. It's just been amazing to feel like we're part of the family when we deal with them.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

Yeah, Liz is just an amazing, strong woman. She's 90 years old and still insists on still mowing her own lawn and they have almost five acres of property. To be able to find this car and human remains for her and her family have just been really such an honor and a privilege for both of us.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

Looking back in preparation for an episode, we were planning to go to Karen's apartment and her childhood home. So we had visited with Gary and Liz multiple times at the house over the last few months. We had seen Karen's childhood bedroom. We had looked through a dresser from her old apartment. We'd even looked at her piano that still sits in the piano room alongside a number of photographs of the family, which include a prominent photograph of Karen in the middle of the wall as a baby and another above it with her as an adult. Gary pulled up some chairs and we sat down at the same kitchen table that we'd been discussing Karen and the case for the last few months with the family. Over our last few visits, when we.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

Told Liz and Gary that we believed we had located Karen's vehicle in the Fox river and and confirmed that the vehicle was a yellow car with her license plate, the family was, as you would imagine, understandably, very emotional. Gary told us that when Susan called, Liz told him that she knew exactly why we were coming out to see her. We had found her daughter. It was an emotional experience for all of us and I know I speak for Andrew as well in saying that being able to give the family this news was really why we do these cases. That's what it is all about. We want to provide answers and closure. But finding Karen's car was just step one of a multi step process. We weren't done yet. In a case like this. Obviously we finally had the car. But the question had remained, was this 100% Karen's car and were Karen's remains inside the vehicle? Still, given the time of day, the lighting conditions, and the fact that our amazing diver Mike had made multiple dives in the river in frigid and fairly windy conditions, we made the decision to regroup for day two to search further in hopes of finally finding Karen and bringing her home. So on March 25, we mobilized a number of resources to do just that. Obviously, Andrew and I were on scene to continue this search along with Chaos Divers. But we want to mention a number of other groups that assisted us with this recovery.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

That's right. We utilized Elgin Police Department's Drone team, Evidence Response Team, Major Investigations Unit, the patrol division, Technical Investigations Division, basically all the resources that our department has to work on this case. We wanted to secure the extraction site and prepare to collect evidence on this case. We had decided from the get go that this would be treated like any other crime scene. That meant drone video, photographs, evidence collection, 3D scans of the car, basically everything that we would do on any active investigation, including a homicide, as if it had happened today.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

Yeah, Andrew. Basically, we wanted to treat this car like a crime scene until proven otherwise. Now that we had the car, it was time to slow everything down and do this very methodically and do it the right way. Kind of just take a pause. So we coordinated our removal plan for the vehicle and potential remains with the Kane County Coroner's Office, the Elgin Fire Department, and Redmond's Towing. By midday on March 25, we were ready to get the car out and take the next step on this case. But that meant a lot of coordination and a lot more dives.

[Monica Silva]

All right, good morning, everyone, and thank you for being here. I'm Anna Lally, Chief of Police police of the Elgin, Illinois Police Department. I am joined by the lead Colt case detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian, Chaos Divers Jacob Grubbs, Lindy buck, and Mike McFerrin, Kane County Coroner Monica Silva, members of her staff, and the Elgin Fire Department. Yesterday's search of the Fox river was conducted because as a re examination of the case progressed, the theories of what happened to Karen included that Karen's vehicle could potentially be in the Fox River. With recent significant advancements in technology, Chaos Divers were contacted to assist us in conducting a more thorough search to fully explore and exhaust this theory. With the use of sonar technology, Chaos Divers located several sites of interest in the Fox river that were explored. At 4 1:42pm yesterday, at a location northwest of the Slade Avenue boat launch, a vehicle was identified. A diver then conducted a further assessment of the vehicle and was able to locate a license plate, XP8919, which then matched the license plate of Karen's yellow 1980 Toyota Celica. This morning, plans to safely remove the vehicle from the Fox river will be formulated and executed in conjunction with the expertise and assistance of Chaos divers, the Elgin fire department, and the Kane county coroner's office. The scene is considered a crime scene, and access will be limited to only police and fire personnel. Once the vehicle has been safely removed from the Fox River, A determination will be made if any human remains are in the vehicle. That determination will be made by the Kane county coroner's office. We will provide this information to the public when this information becomes available. As the recovery of the vehicle is made, it is important to stress that this is the beginning of what is still considered an open and active investigation, with many questions still to be answered. As we continue to investigate this case, we will remain steadfast in our resolve to provide answers and closure to Karen's family.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

Mike assessed the car again, Then had dive team members from the Elgin fire department independently assess the car as well. That way, they could compare what each saw and felt independently. Mike had been diving for a number of years and has extensive experience with underwater recoveries. He, just like Lindsay and Jacob, volunteers his time to help families with this type of situation. And he was just, just a beast all around. He dove two days in a row, did multiple dives on each day, and was in water in the fox river that was 40 degrees with visibility that was less than 6 inches. Mike was the diver who confirmed Karen's car for the first time in almost 42 years and removed the license plate in those conditions so that we could make a visual confirmation of her car. This was how Mike described Karen's car to us after one of the extensive dives and assessments that he did on March 25th.

[Lindsey Busick]

On this specific vehicle, it feels like all the windows are intact and up except for one. It's in the back or the back hatch. And I can still see yellow on the vehicle. All four wheels are still intact. All four wheels are still there. There's a few rough spots on the vehicle the where that's rusted through. But all in all, the vehicle's in pretty good shape for being down there for 40 something years.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

Once we had double confirmation that all the windows were intact with the exception of the rear hatch, which was facing downstream, Both Matt and I were pretty excited. We felt like that meant the vehicle was very intact. So at least at that point, we had a really good chance of finding human remains inside a Karen's vehicle if they were there.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

Mike dove once again and was able to secure an air bladder inside the rear window of the vehicle. So think of like a giant balloon going inside of an object and then you blow it up a little bit. That helped to kind of seal everything inside. Once Jacob and Lindsay inflated it, the bladder covered and sealed that broken window in preparation for our extraction. The vehicle was just over 150ft wide west of the shoreline. And so Redmond's towing had to secure cables using a crane to the vehicle and slowly slide it along the riverbed to pull it out.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

Jacob and Lindsay circled with their sonar to check the path we planned to drag the car through. Obviously, we didn't want to drag the car into a piece of concrete or a tree or this pipe or tire or other debris that we had found in our initial search of the area. Once we assessed the path and found that it was clear, we started making preparations to bring Karen's car above the surface for the first time in 42 years. Here's Jacob talking about the extraction plan.

[Jacob Grubbs]

So currently, they're going to go down there with the straps that Redmond's towing provided for us to go around all four tires.

[Mike McFerrin]

Okay.

[Jacob Grubbs]

Therefore, when we get ready to pull them, those are secure on a tire. The diver can then go back down, readjust the hooks to lift it straight out of the water.

[Mike McFerrin]

Okay.

[Jacob Grubbs]

But for right now, we're not going to marry all four points together. The two front tires or the two back tires, whichever one they decide side is what's going to go on the tow hook to drag it out.

[Mike McFerrin]

Okay.

[Jacob Grubbs]

We are going to have. Yep. We are going to have a. A bag inside inflated to make sure the content stay in the front or the back, whichever windows open. Once we get it over there, then we'll lift it straight out of the water onto the land.

[Mike McFerrin]

All right, perfect.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

Mike took yet another dive into the water and secured the four tires along with the Elgin fire department. Finally, we were ready to start the slow process of bringing Karen's car to the surface. Andrew coordinated over the radio with our command post to let them know that we were finally ready to go.

[Mike McFerrin]

David 25 to wrap. Just make sure they know once they get it close to the wall here, the divers are gonna have to go back in and detach and then reattach so they can lift it with the crane.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

We spent several tense minutes slowly and methodically sliding the car toward the shoreline. Then, at 2:39pm on March 25th of 2025, Karen's canary yellow 1980 Toyota Celica broke the muddy surface of the Fox River. It was the first time that the car was above the water in 41 years, 11 months, and 9 days.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

With the car up and out of the water, our evidence team and drone team Went to work in coordination with the Kane county coroner's office. The elgin police department conducted a thorough assessment of the vehicle before having redmonds lift the car, Tarp it, and transport it to the coroner's office for processing. I have to say that during the process of pulling Karen's car out of the fox river, Several of those windows, which were initially intact, broke, which made us concerned that we may have potentially lost some human remains or other items from inside the car. Mike, being just the absolute best human being that he is, Agreed to go back to his vehicle, Put on all of his dive equipment, and go back in the water again. He searched the area where we drugged the car and pulled the car out Just to make sure we didn't miss anything. I just can't say enough about his help and chaos divers help on this case.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

Andrew and I picked up copies of dental records for Karen that we had at the station that were from the original case file, and headed to the Kane county coroner's office to determine if human remains could be located within the car. We were elated when, within just a few hours of removing Karen's car, Kane County Coroner Dr. Monica Silva advised us that forensic pathologist Dr. Hilary McElligott confirmed that there were human remains inside Karen's car. So for the second day in a row, we called Susan.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

We followed the same procedure as the day before and went out to visit Liz and Gary again. We sat at the kitchen table With Liz sitting next to me and told her we believed that after 42 years, we had finally found her missing daughter, Karen.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

You know, I have a hard time explaining Just what this experience was like for both of us. I know it is something that I will never forget, and I'm sure that it was something that the family will also never forget. It is something that I have never experienced in my career and may never experience again. But even if we only get to do this one time, it was totally worth it.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

Yeah, I agree. Just to be able to tell the family, Liz especially, that after all her hard work, the letters she wrote, the people she talked to, the interviews she gave, all the things the family did up to this point, those things all mattered. Their efforts helped us bring Karen home. They helped keep our case alive. They helped put the limelight on her case, and they helped us finally find Karen. The last step, at least for this part of the investigation, was confirming 100% that the remains we recovered Belonged to Karen scheepers.

[Detective Matt Vortanian]

Throughout the day on March 26, I coordinated with the evidence response team from the Elgin Police Department and the Kane County Coroner's Office for an extensive search of Karen's vehicle. While Andrew continued coordinating with the family, uploading videos and pictures for the search and documenting our last couple days of search efforts, we were able to confirm the VIN number for Karen's car. And late in the afternoon on March 26, we were able to recover the metal portion of Karen's Sycamore High school class of 1977 Tassel, which we believed prior to the search would have been hanging from her rearview mirror. We also recovered a sapphire birthstone ring that that Karen wore nearly every day of her adult life, along with other personal effects and clothing. Then, a little after 6pm on March 26th of 2025, we got the news that we had been looking for and that Karen's family had been seeking for almost 42 years. Forensic odontologist Dr. David Wold compared dental records from Karen's dentist to the human remains that we recovered from inside the Toyota Celica. They were a perfect match.

[Detective Andrew Houghton]

The last thing we did for this search and recovery was make the drive out to Sycamore one more time. On March 26th. Liz greeted us like she has every other time we've come and invited us to sit down at the family kitchen table. I think that the words we spoke with her there and the family we will keep between us and the family. But being able to tell them this news was something that neither of us will ever forget. I was reminded of Karen's friend Denise when we sat down with her early on in the investigation and she told us one thing that stuck in my mind and Matt's mind. She said to us, she's ready to come home. Next time here on Somebody Knows Something, we're going to be talking to Chaos Diversity, the group who was instrumental in locating and successfully recovering Karen's vehicle intact along with her remains and personal belongings while we finally brought Karen home. We still have some work to do and we still have some answers that we want to try to provide for the family. We plan to finish this season with a few more episodes to take our listeners with us as we go through the final steps in this case and circle back with the family and friends who have waited over four decades to find Karen and to hear about what this has meant to them. We plan to post a few more episodes as we go through and finalize Karen's case. And then we plan to take a brief break as we review our case file to select another case for season two of Somebody Knows Something.

[Chief Anna Lally]

If you or anyone you know has information about this case or any other cold case in Elgin, please contact the Elgin Police Department Cold case [e-mail] or the cold case tip line at 847289.

[Monica Silva]

Cold.

[Chief Anna Lally]

You can also review cold case information on the Elgin Police Department's Transparency Hub by going to Elginil.gov and navigating to the Elgin Police Department's transparency hub, where every cold case, homicide and missing persons case is listed with photographs and information about each case.