Round Lake Park mother found dead

The body of a 34-year-old Round Lake Park woman who had been missing for more than a week was found on the floor of her minivan in a Grayslake parking lot, police said Tuesday.

Round Lake Park Police Chief George Filenko said drugs or alcohol seemed play a role in the death of Melissa Best, who had been missing since April 15.

During a news conference, Filenko said police have learned Best voluntarily drove to a Waukegan motel on North Point Boulevard after dropping off one of her two children at a friend’s apartment in Round Lake Park.

She died at the motel, Filenko said, and her body was taken from the motel by “acquaintances” and driven in her own van to the Grayslake parking lot in the 1900 block of Country Drive, and left there.

“Until the toxicology results come back, this is a death investigation,” he said. “We were hoping for a better result than this, but we are still investigating.”

Filenko said blood tests performed on Best revealed traces of opiates. He would not speculate on what drugs were in her system, saying police are awaiting the results of an autopsy scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Best was reported missing April 16 by her husband, Clinton Best, Filenko said. The missing person report prompted a 10-day search.

Following a tip, Filenko said, investigators found Best’s body in the minivan about 6:30 p.m. Monday. Personal items and her drivers license were with her when the body was discovered, Filenko said. Best was pronounced dead about 6:50 p.m. by Lake County Coroner’s Office officials.

Best did not have a known drug problem, Filenko said, but she had problems with alcohol in the past. He would not elaborate.

Filenko said police are in contact with the acquaintances Best was with the night she died. He would not identify them, except to say Best knew them for quite some time.

He also declined to say they were suspects in her death, but did refer to them as “persons of interest in a death investigation.”

Filenko said Clinton Best was devastated by the news of his wife’s death when he was notified late Monday.

“They were high school sweethearts and in love since they were 15 years old,” he said. “The news hit him pretty hard.”

Filenko said, in addition to thorough investigative work, tips from family and friends on social media sites such as Facebook helped detectives solve the case.

Clinton Best opened a Facebook account after his wife was declared missing. Tips from the Facebook site were checked out by investigators, he said.

The Lake County Major Crimes Task force is assisting in the investigation.