The body of a Chicago Public Schools teacher who had been missing for more than a week was pulled from Lake Michigan on Monday.
Linda Brown, a special education teacher at Robert Healy Elementary School in Bridgeport, was reported missing on Jan. 3. But after days spent searching for her, Brown’s family in a written statement Monday night said her body had been found in the 31st Street Harbor.
“This is not the outcome we were hoping or praying for,” the statement read, “but we are grateful that she has been found and can now be brought home to our family.”
Police recovered the body of a woman from the water in the 3100 block of South Lake Shore Drive on the city’s South Side just before noon, authorities said. She was pronounced dead on scene at 12:53 p.m. and identified by the Cook County medical examiner’s office as 53-year-old Brown.
Police, in their initial missing-persons report for Brown, said she was last seen around the 4500 block of South King Drive in Bronzeville. Days later, police updated the alert saying Brown was seen in the 3500 block of South Lake Park Avenue — about half a mile from where her body was recovered Monday. Police stated that she may have been in need of immediate medical attention.
Police again updated the alert for Brown on Monday stating that she had been located but provided no further details.
Since her disappearance, family and friends had been putting out public pleas for her safe return and launched their own search, according to several published reports. Brown’s family, in their statement Monday, thanked those who had flocked to help their efforts: “The outpouring of support meant more to us than words can express.”
Brown’s niece Jen Rivera, in a brief phone call with the Tribune, said her aunt was “always happy, always smiling.”
“She was an amazing person,” Rivera remembered. “She had such an incredible personality … and the most fun laugh you probably would ever hear.”
Rivera said their family and her students loved her.
Robert Healy Principal Erin Kamradt notified the school of Brown’s death in an email to the campus community.
“Our thoughts are with her family during this difficult time,” Kamradt wrote. “We know that this loss will raise many emotions, concerns, and questions for our entire school, especially our students.”
The school was working with CPS’ crisis management unit to provide grief counseling and support to students and staff members, Kamradt said, adding that the campus’ own school-based mental health professionals would also be available for students who need ongoing services.
“We are deeply saddened by this loss,” Kamradt wrote, “and will do everything we can to help our school community heal.”
An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Brown’s family said they were taking time to grieve.
“At this time, we are respectfully asking for privacy,” they stated, “as we grieve, process this loss and come together as a family to honor Linda’s life.”
