Body found in pond identified as missing teen’s

A body recovered from a Vernon Hills pond has been identified as that of Brissa Romero, a 17-year-old from Carpentersville who was reported missing last week by her family.

Preliminary autopsy results indicate that there were no significant injuries and that the teen’s death is consistent with drowning, the Lake County coroner’s office said Wednesday.

Divers involved in the second day of the search for the missing teen recovered a body matching her description from a large retention pond near Executive Way and Lakeview Parkway just before 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. Her SUV, a gray Nissan Rogue, had been pulled out of the same pond a day earlier.

The coroner’s office conducted an autopsy Wednesday and positively identified the remains as Romero’s.

She last spoke to her family members on Dec. 4 while en route to a holiday work party at a Vernon Hills bowling alley.

Based on the condition of the SUV, Vernon Hills police said they believed that Romero was in the vehicle when it drove into the pond. The SUV traveled as much as 60 feet into the pond near a T-shaped intersection.

“From preliminary review of what happened, it really appears like this is a case where a driver unfamiliar with the area failed to navigate a turn and went through the intersection, down an embankment into the pond,” Vernon Hills Police Chief Patrick Kreis said at a joint news conference with Carpentersville police Monday.

Vernon Hills police, Carpentersville police, the Major Crash Assistance Team of Lake County and the coroner’s office continue to investigate.