Police: Skeletal remains found in missing Elgin woman’s car pulled from Fox River after 42 years

Authorities say skeletal remains were found inside the car that belonged to an Elgin woman who has been missing for 42 years.

Police announced the discovery after recovering the car from the Fox River on Tuesday.

Hundreds of people watched from both sides of the river throughout the afternoon as Karen Schepers’ yellow Toyota Celica was recovered largely intact.

Schepers, who grew up in Sycamore, disappeared after attending a party with coworkers at a Carpentersville bar in 1983.

Elgin Police Chief Ana Lalley said Tuesday morning that a search of the river on Monday by the department and Chaos Divers, a group that uses sonar to search for people suspected missing in bodies of water, yielded a vehicle with the license plate XP8919, which matched the 1980 Toyota Celica owned by Schepers.

Divers worked for several hours to secure the car before attaching it to a tow cable. Shortly after, the car was pulled out of the river largely intact.

The car, which had been sitting upside down in the river, was taken to the Kane County Coroner’s Office, where forensic pathologists found the presence of skeletal human remains inside the vehicle.

Authorities said tests to determine if the remains match DNA samples or dental records from Schepers could take up to several weeks.

“It is important to stress that this is the beginning of what is still considered an open and active investigation, with many questions still to be answered,” she said. “As we continue to investigate this case we will remain steadfast in our resolve to provide answers and closure to Karen’s family.”

Jacob Grubbs of Chaos Divers said they found the car near the west bank of the river north of the Slade Avenue boat launch in about seven feet of water. He said diver Mike McFerron had about six inches of visibility in the murky water when he was able to locate the license plate.

Schepers’ case was at the top of the list for Elgin’s new Cold Case Unit, led by detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian.

On the night she vanished, Schepers met up with about 20 coworkers at P.M. Bentley’s, a now-closed bar in Carpentersville. Investigators believe Karen left the bar between 1 to 1:30 a.m. after her coworkers had already gone.

At one point that night, Schepers called her fiance, Terry Schultz, and asked him to drop by the bar. He declined, telling her he had a busy day at work ahead of him. Schepers and Schultz then had a brief argument.

Schultz was looked at as a suspect at the time, but Houghton and Vartanian said he cooperated with investigators until his death in 2015 and media reports from the time say he passed a lie-detector test.

On Tuesday, Karen Schepers’ older brother, Gary, said the family is waiting for information before commenting.

On Tuesday, Karen Scheper’s older brother, Gary, said the family is waiting for the car to be removed from the river, and for information about what may or may not be found in it, before commenting.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250325/news/missing-womans-car-to-be-pulled-from-fox-river/