Missing Arlington Heights woman, 88, found dead

An 88-year-old Arlington Heights woman who was reported missing Tuesday night was found dead Wednesday afternoon along the Jane Addams Tollway corridor near Golf Road.

Rolling Meadows police responding to a report of a vehicle in the ditch found a red Honda Civic and Lillian Kauffman, who was unresponsive, outside the vehicle.

Police and fire crews responded at about 12:30 p.m. after someone spotted the vehicle in a ditch.

The vehicle had crashed through a fence off New Wilke Road and into the heavy brush and water-filled ditch, said Arlington Heights Fire Cmdr. Bill Essling.

Authorities believe the vehicle crashed into the ditch sometime Tuesday night, but the vehicle was not found until Wednesday afternoon.

Although the crash remains under investigation by police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office, foul play is not suspected.

Kauffman’s family reported her missing to Arlington Heights police Tuesday night at 6:15 p.m. after receiving a call from a concerned neighbor.

The neighbor told police Kauffman appeared confused and disoriented earlier in the day Tuesday, and family members found the garage of her home open and the house unlocked, according to authorities.