A vehicle with license plates matching the vehicle of the 1980 Toyota Celica in which Karen Schepers, who disappeared at the age of 23 in 1983, is believed to have last been seen was located today in the Fox River by Elgin authorities seeking to solve the 42-year-old cold case.
With the use of sonar technology, Chaos Divers located several sites of interest that were explored and, at a location northwest of the Slade Avenue boat launch, a vehicle was identified which bore the license plate XP8919, which matches the license plate of Schepers’ 1980 Toyota Celica. It is yet to be determined if any human remains are in the vehicle.
Due to current diving conditions, efforts to safely remove the vehicle from the Fox River will be conducted Tuesday with the assistance of Chaos Divers, the Elgin Fire Department, and the Kane County Coroner’s Office.
On an early Monday morning in April, 1983, 23-year-old Karen Schepers of Elgin left a bar called P.M. Bentley’s in Carpentersville at roughly 1:00am after a party with her co-workers. She got into her yellow Toyota Celica and was never seen again.
Monday, the Elgin Police Department will be conducting searches of the Fox River as part of a cold case investigation into her disappearance.
Detectives Andrew Houghton & Matt Vartanian from the Elgin Police Department Cold Case Unit have interviewed members of Karen’s family, her close friends, and her co-workers to get a sense of who Karen was as a person; have tracked down an employee of P.M. Bentley’s who was never interviewed who reveals new information about a man who stalked Karen and her in the parking lot and followed her home in the months leading up to Karen’s disappearance; have had discussions with a witness who claimed he saw Karen with some bikers both inside and outside the bar and another witness who detailed her interaction with a man who allegedly claimed he was involved in her disappearance; and reviewed the cases of serial killers who were active in the Elgin area during the early 1980s.
As a result, they have developed various theories about what actually happened to Karen that mid-spring morning. The search tomorrow follows from one theory that Karen and her car are submerged in a body of water, as new tips have come in and new technology has become available. The detectives have identified the routes that Karen would have likely taken, have travelled those routes, and have followed-up on new tips about a car recently discovered in the Fox River.
The Fox River search efforts are being completed with the assistance of the non-profit organization, Chaos Divers. These searches are being completed to ensure thorough documentation of the steps taken to find Karen Schepers.
This story is developing.
