17-Year-Old Brissa Romero's Body Officially Identified in Illinois Pond, Coroner Says
The Carpentersville teen recently graduated high school and was studying to become an ultrasound technician
Village of Carpentersville Public Safety
Brissa Romero.Authorities in Illinois have positively identified the body found in a retention pond on Tuesday afternoon as that of 17-year-old Brissa Romero.
The Carpentersville teenager vanished while on her way to a holiday work party on Dec. 4 and had been the subject of a weeklong search.
Results from a preliminary autopsy conducted on Wednesday indicate that there were no significant injuries and that Romero’s death is consistent with drowning, the Lake County Coroner’s Office said in a news release obtained by PEOPLE.
An investigation by the Vernon Hills Police Department, the Carpentersville Police Department, the Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) of Lake County and the Lake County Coroner’s Office is ongoing, the coroner’s office said.
Related: Ill. Teen Vanished While on Way to Work Party, Car Found Submerged in Pond
Divers involved in the search for the missing girl located and recovered a body matching her description from a retention pond near Executive Way and Lakeview Parkway in Vernon Hills, about 40 miles north of Chicago, just before 12:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday..
Her vehicle, a 2008 Nissan Rogue, had been discovered the day before in the same pond, according to the coroner's office.
Romero was on her way to a bowling alley in Vernon Hills when she disappeared, PEOPLE previously reported. She was last spotted on surveillance video while visiting a family member in Des Plaines.
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According to police, surveillance footage obtained from a nearby fast food restaurant and taken shortly before Romero’s phone last pinged, suggests she was driving around the time she was believed to have gone missing.
“Preliminary investigation suggests the car was accidentally driven into the pond after the driver failed to navigate the T-intersection,” police said.
Related: ‘Passionate' and 'Genuine' Student, 24, Dies in 'Unfortunate' Duck-Hunting Incident
Several items belonging to Romero, including a backpack containing what police say was identifying information, were found along the pond’s shore prior to authorities finding Romero’s body.
According to WGN-TV, Romero was a graduate of Barrington High School and was studying at Harper College to become an ultrasound technician.
On Sunday, family members held an emotional vigil for Romero outside of the Bowlero bowling alley, NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV reported.
“My daughter, she was a hard worker," Romero’s mother, Blanca Aguilera, told the news station, fighting back tears. “She was talking [to] me about what she wants to do in college."
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