Ponds searched but Libertyville woman found safe in New York

A Libertyville woman reported missing Memorial Day was found safe in New York on Tuesday, as rescue personnel using sonar searched a pond near her home.

How or why Sau Chung, 72, made her way to New York was unclear, but Libertyville Police Chief Clint Herdegen said the department was able to verify it was her and that she was OK.

“I think people were just assuming she went for a walk,” he said. “We don’t know how she wound up there yet. They (family members) didn’t know she was leaving.”

Chung lives on Golf Road in the neighborhood west of the Libertyville Golf Course, which borders the Des Plaines River on the south side of town. She speaks only Chinese and was last in contact with her family around noon Monday.

Police were contacted by the family Monday evening. Dogs were brought to the Des Plaines River bordering the golf course before it got dark.

“We know from discussions with the family that was an area she would go frequently to walk,” Herdegen said.

Authorities thought it prudent to resume the search Tuesday because no one had contacted Chung or found her in the neighborhood or at area hospitals and because she was known to frequently walk in the area, Herdegen said.

Dogs apparently sensed something, but divers from the Libertyville fire department came up empty-handed Tuesday morning, according to Libertyville Assistant Fire Chief Mike Cloe.

Specialized teams were called about 10:40 a.m. Tuesday as attention focused on a pond off the eighth tee of the municipal course. The area is off a narrow street used to access the private Libertyville Club, a tennis and fitness facility, and the southern part of the golf course. Both are between Fourth Avenue and the river.

Representatives from eight jurisdictions, including the Lake & McHenry County Side Scan Sonar Team, responded. Metropolitan Emergency Support Services crews also was on hand.

Personnel in a small boat used side scan sonar to check for objects in the pond and others waited nearby for potential developments throughout the morning. Searchers were scanning a second pond to the south when Chung’s status became known. The operation was suspended around 2:30 p.m.

Herdegen said Chung used a cellphone to call her family, but it took awhile to verify.

“We’re not classifying her as missing any longer,” he said Tuesday afternoon. Police are seeking details.

“We’d like to speak with her if we can. We’ve reached out to a translator,” he said.