Found Deceased IL - Brissa Romero, 17, from Carpentersville, gray 2008 Nissan Rogue, didn't return from a work party at Bowlero, Vernon Hills, 4 Dec 2023

[Unsolved]

I am very concerned about the bodies of water near Bowlero combined with the missing car and lack of phone activity. These were searched? Thoroughly???

I'm concerned too. Looks like 3 lakes just in the Bowlero vicinity (Harvey Lake, Little Bear Lake, Big Bear Lake):

 

[Skylark6]

My other thought was, I noticed on Google Maps a Casey's nearby, which has gas. I wonder if she stopped to fuel up her tank and something happened there. I'm assuming LE is investigating all nearby businesses that might have cameras, which most gas stations and convenience stores do. It might be near enough the bowling alley that would account for her device pinging "in the area." However, I would think that early evening on a Monday at a gas station nearby several businesses would be a very conspicuous place to abduct someone, so I still am leaning towards the bowling alley parking lot MOO.

I agree about the Casey's being unlikely. It's right off 60/Townline, a major roadway and that area is generally pretty hopping with people. I can't imagine someone wouldn't have seen something. Carjackings have happened in broad daylight in the county, and recently, but there were numerous witnesses and suspects were apprehended quickly. Suspect in custody after attacking, carjacking woman in Long Grove before crashing hijacked car in Hawthorn Woods
It's not a normal occurrence in that area however, or in Vernon Hills.

Bowlero and the surrounding industrial/business buildings definitely does feel more isolated. I pulled off in one of the many parking areas to take photos of a beautiful full moon once and I definitely noticed that. If she was in Bowlero's lot, I would think someone would have seen something but that would depend on how many people attended the party and what time it started, etc. But a nearby business' parking lot obscured by other buildings? Totally realistic no one was around.

It's definitely possible someone aware she was headed to the party intercepted her and ditched her phone in the vicinity. Definitely some... interesting comments on some of her social media but not sure it's beyond what the average teenage girl would be getting, tbh. Though definitely a really gross comment on the ABC YouTube video linked above.

ETA: with all the nearby intersections and businesses that must have cameras (they are likely still checking but it's also been multiple days) I wonder if someone aware she was headed that way to the party (sounds like plenty of people knew) intercepted her closer to home in Carpentersville or on the way, and ditched the car up there. It's a decent distance between the two. Then driving another vehicle, they ditched the phone near Bowlero. Which would explain her car not being seen on local cameras (if that turns out to be the case).

2nd ETA: when I pulled off to take photos in that same business park, I do recall the parking areas were relatively well-lit - it was just very empty. I remember because the lights interfere with getting a nice photo of the moon. So if she did make it out there and pulled off nearby to look for directions, it being well-lit would have looked like a safe place to do so.

 

[Unalienable Rights]

Family searches for Brissa Romero, teen who went missing after leaving for Vernon Hills party

The family of a 17-year-old Carpentersville girl who vanished after going to attend a holiday party in Vernon Hills was out looking for her on Saturday.

abc7chicago.com

CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- Friends and family searched all of Saturday for Brissa Romero, dispersing to different wooded areas in Vernon Hills, but there was still no sign of the missing Carpentersville teen.

The 17-year-old's sister said they're heartsick and desperate to find her. The family is offering a $1,000 reward for any information that leads to Brissa's safe return.

Brissa Romero disappearance: Police release new details in search for missing Carpentersville teen

Desperate for answers, friends and family members continue to search for a missing Carpentersville teen who was last seen on Monday.

www.fox32chicago.com

********
Now Brissa’s phone is off, her car is gone, and police are revealing that a dive into her social media accounts shows no outgoing activity since Monday.

********
Still, police say she never made it to her next stop.

"Even her friends that she told she was 2 minutes away, they never saw her," said Dulce Romero.

********
Police also say there is a sticker to the right of the teen’s rear license plate that depicts the outline of a black cartoon coyote.

*****
A student at Harper College, Brissa is studying to be a sonogram nurse – working two jobs to pay for school.

******

 

[threesevenninefour]

Whenever someone goes missing with their car and there’s water nearby I get a very bad feeling…I know they said they surveyed the bodies of water but I wonder how throughly? Hoping I’m wrong, of course

 

[MysteryMaven]

Whenever someone goes missing with their car and there’s water nearby I get a very bad feeling…I know they said they surveyed the bodies of water but I wonder how throughly? Hoping I’m wrong, of course

I feel the same way.

 

[MntnHiker]

Whenever I read about cases where there is the *possibility* that someone was abducted from a parking lot, I think of the case of Kelsey Smith: Murder of Kelsey Smith - Wikipedia

She was abducted from a busy Target parking lot just after 7 in the evening in the summertime when it was still bright daylight outside. There was an episode about her on the ID show See No Evil that showed the camera footage and the ambush and shoving her into her car happened so fast that it took investigators awhile to even notice this quick blur on the CCTV footage of the parking lot. No one reported seeing this happen in the Target parking lot, and that parking lot would likely be busier and overall brighter than the Bowlero parking lot on Monday night. So I do think an abduction/car jacking *could* have happened and no one saw it.

An article posted upthread mentioned that she told friends she was two minutes out. I wonder how she communicated this to them. By phone call? Was she at a stop light and sent a text? If it was her communicating that message, that makes it even more likely to me that something happened when she arrived at Bowlero.

One other thought I had was, it is possible a coworker intercepted her in the parking lot. I'm curious if anyone else didn't show up for the work party or showed up late and people thought it odd or had expected them and then they no-showed. Could be someone even got in her car under friendly pretenses and then it turned nefarious. MOO

 

[Inthedetails]

Whenever someone goes missing with their car and there’s water nearby I get a very bad feeling…I know they said they surveyed the bodies of water but I wonder how throughly? Hoping I’m wrong, of course

Same here.

My first reaction is a car accident and she went off the road somewhere.

jmo

 

[Slamalam]

Family searches for Brissa Romero, teen who went missing after leaving for Vernon Hills party

The family of a 17-year-old Carpentersville girl who vanished after going to attend a holiday party in Vernon Hills was out looking for her on Saturday.

abc7chicago.com

CARPENTERSVILLE, Ill. (WLS) -- Friends and family searched all of Saturday for Brissa Romero, dispersing to different wooded areas in Vernon Hills, but there was still no sign of the missing Carpentersville teen.

The 17-year-old's sister said they're heartsick and desperate to find her. The family is offering a $1,000 reward for any information that leads to Brissa's safe return.

Brissa Romero disappearance: Police release new details in search for missing Carpentersville teen

Desperate for answers, friends and family members continue to search for a missing Carpentersville teen who was last seen on Monday.

www.fox32chicago.com

********
Now Brissa’s phone is off, her car is gone, and police are revealing that a dive into her social media accounts shows no outgoing activity since Monday.

********
Still, police say she never made it to her next stop.

"Even her friends that she told she was 2 minutes away, they never saw her," said Dulce Romero.

********
Police also say there is a sticker to the right of the teen’s rear license plate that depicts the outline of a black cartoon coyote.

View attachment 467075

*****
A student at Harper College, Brissa is studying to be a sonogram nurse – working two jobs to pay for school.

******

Thanks for sharing the photo/info regarding the car. I was curious and live nearby, so I can keep an eye out for that.

 

[Puzzles8]

"Police said a license plate reader placed her vehicle near the bowling alley location on Monday night.
"She was in the area, but never was able to get into the party, nor to this parking lot. But, she was in the area, and we're trying to figure out, how do we lose a car just out of nowhere?" said Dulce Romero, Brissa's sister."
"The family is now offering a $14,000 reward for any information that could help them find the 17-year-old."

Surveillance camera captures last known video of missing Carpentersville teen Brissa Romero

New surveillance video shared by Brissa Romero's family shows the last known documented footage of the now-missing 17-year-old girl.

abc7chicago.com

JMO

 

[Unalienable Rights]

Body pulled from Chicago area pond identified as missing teen Brissa Romero

Brissa Romero had been missing since Dec. 4. Her car was pulled out of the same pond on Monday.

www.cbsnews.com

Desperate but determined, Brissa's friends and family braved the elements Sunday, holding a vigil at the intersection of Route 45 and Milwaukee Avenue in Vernon Hills – the last known location where police said her SUV was spotted by traffic cameras.

 

[Skylark6]

Body pulled from Chicago area pond identified as missing teen Brissa Romero

Brissa Romero had been missing since Dec. 4. Her car was pulled out of the same pond on Monday.

www.cbsnews.com

Desperate but determined, Brissa's friends and family braved the elements Sunday, holding a vigil at the intersection of Route 45 and Milwaukee Avenue in Vernon Hills – the last known location where police said her SUV was spotted by traffic cameras.

Oh now that's very interesting. I wonder if the phone pinged around that area too or if closer to Bowlero. I would guess she continued down Milwaukee Ave. I would have to think Milwaukee and Townline/60, a major intersection, would have cameras. The Lake County Passage site indicates there are, as well as many other cameras in the area, however that doesn't mean the footage is saved/they have license plate readers, etc. Lake County PASSAGE Live Traffic

If she got into Vernon Hills in the vicinity of Bowlero, it's hard to imagine a place where she could have crashed off the road and not been noticed. Especially earlier in the evening. There is so.much.traffic there. I need to look for myself how accessible the retention ponds/lakes near Bowlero would be. Treeline may prevent access to Harvey Lake. The most accessible IMHO would be Little Bear Lake, but seems to me it would be difficult to do accidentally.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

New surveillance video shared by the family of Brissa Romero, missing Carpentersville girl, shows the last known footage of her in Schaumburg, IL.
Her family said it's the last known documented video of her before she left for the party.

Investigators said a license plate reader placed her vehicle near the Vernon Hills bowling alley, but her car was never found. That's where loved ones gathered Sunday night, pleading for answers.

"Nobody wants to go through this," Rubi Romero, Brissa's sister, said. "Nobody. Nobody wants having a sibling missed, a daughter missed, a family member or just a friend. Everyone is scared and everyone is just simply trying to locate her."

Car belonging to missing Carpentersville teen Brissa Romero found in Vernon Hills retention pond

The car belonging to missing teen Brissa Romero was pulled from a retention pond in Vernon Hills Monday afternoon.

abc7chicago.com

 

[vls12345]

at the intersection of Route 45 and Milwaukee Avenue in Vernon Hills – the last known location where police said her SUV was spotted by traffic cameras.

It looks like that's almost equidistant (as the crow flies) between 2 Bowlero locations. Could she have mistakenly been heading to the other one? Has that location/route been searched too?

Vernon Township · Vernon Township, IL

Vernon Township, IL

goo.gl

 

[iamshadow21]

It looks like that's almost equidistant (as the crow flies) between 2 Bowlero locations. Could she have mistakenly been heading to the other one? Has that location/route been searched too?

View attachment 467357

Vernon Township · Vernon Township, IL

Vernon Township, IL

goo.gl

That's a very good question. If she went to the other, the search radius could be way off.

MOO

 

[Claudette]

I’m from the area, this was just posted. May not be related, but everyone is assuming it is

 

[vls12345]

Looks like the traffic is blocked around this pond/lake at the streets listed in the previous post, along Milwaukee Avenue.

Lakeview Pkwy · Lakeview Pkwy, Vernon Hills, IL 60061

Lakeview Pkwy, Vernon Hills, IL 60061

goo.gl

Also, if for some reason she was heading south on Milwaukee (turned around to get something?) and was going to turn into that street, it looks like if you turned slightly too early, you could end up in the south area of the pond/lake. Moo.

What is the street lighting there like? Are there cameras around?

 

[Falcons10!]

 

[Falcons10!]

This is the pond they are searching. I don’t believe it’s the one directly off of 21 . It’s at the intersection of Executive Pkwy and Lakeview. There is a stop sign at that intersection. Not super easy to just drive into. Do we know if her phone pinged at Bowlero? Lots of traffic in that area all the time. Someone would have had to have seen her drive in . I don’t think that’s what happened..

 

[24Roses]

This is the pond they are searching. I don’t believe it’s the one directly off of 21 . It’s at the intersection of Executive Pkwy and Lakeview. There is a stop sign at that intersection. Not super easy to just drive into. Do we know if her phone pinged at Bowlero? Lots of traffic in that area all the time. Someone would have had to have seen her drive in . I don’t think that’s what happened..

I've been following along quietly. IMHO, I thought Brissa could have ended up in the water. Sadly, she could of been using her phone and not paying attention. I would of thought LE would have searched the ponds extensively in that area from the very beginning.

 

[Inthedetails]

This photo from a news chopper shows the water is not that far from the road. Trees do not block the shore.




Darius Johnson (DJ)
@DariusJohnsonTV
·
15m

RIGHT NOW: Chopper 2 above an active search for 17-year-old Brissa Romero of Carpentersville. She hasn’t been seen since last Monday after she didn’t show up to a holiday party at a Vernon Hills Bowling Alley. Her family is desperate for answers and offering a $14K reward.

https://twitter.com/search?q=brissa%20romero&src=typed_query

Tweet is MSM, CBSNews Chicago