The search for 17-year-old Brissa Romero, who went missing on her way to a work holiday party in Carpentersville, Illinois, has been suspended for the night. The Vernon Hills Police Department announced the suspension of search operations on Monday evening, after Romero’s vehicle was located in a retention pond.
The search for the missing teen began after new cell phone data analysis led officers to the pond located at Lakeview Parkway and Executive Way in Vernon Hills. A resident approached an officer at the scene and informed them of a backpack floating in the water, which was later identified as belonging to Romero.
Hours later, a vehicle matching the one Romero was driving the night she went missing was pulled from the water, but unfortunately, no body was recovered. During a press conference, Police Chief Patrick Kreis said that they would continue to make every effort to find her.
According to officials, Romero’s vehicle was described as a gray 2008 Nissan Rogue, with a sticker of a black coyote and Illinois license plate number CZ64618. Surveillance footage from a fast food restaurant located just over a mile from the scene showed Romero parking her vehicle, entering the building and exiting alone before getting back into her car and continuing driving.
Romero was heading to a work holiday party at Bowlero in Vernon Hills when she went missing on Dec. 4. Her family said that she was last captured on traffic cameras in the same area where her vehicle was found near Town Center Road and Milwaukee Avenue.
The village of Vernon Hills confirmed that police and Carpentersville police had “refined their search area for missing Brissa Romero” and were “on scene in the area of Executive Way and Lakeview Parkway in Vernon Hills, IL.” They asked the public to avoid the area as the investigation was ongoing.
Officers conducted an extensive search near the venue, where her phone last pinged. Search efforts were ongoing Monday as authorities continued to look for additional surveillance footage or witnesses, even after the vehicle was found.
According to her family, Romero was an outgoing and responsible young woman who did not have a history of mental health challenges or running away from home. Surveillance cameras captured one of the final images of Romero before her disappearance as she returned to work in Schaumburg to retrieve her iPad around 7 p.m. that evening.
Romero’s family said that they all share their locations with their parents and that she had called her mother at 6:55 p.m. to say she was on her way to the party. However, her mother’s location tracking showed that she never arrived.
As of Monday, the circumstances regarding Romero’s disappearance remain unknown. However, her family still has hope that she will be found. Dulce Romero, Brissa’s mother, said, “In my heart I still believe that she’s out there. But for now we’ll just be with keep investigating and we will find her.”
Anyone who may have security video that could assist police in their investigation is asked to call the Carpentersville Police Department at 847-551-3481.
The search for 17-year-old Brissa Romero, who went missing on her way to a work holiday party in Carpentersville, Illinois, has been suspended for the night. The Vernon Hills Police Department announced the suspension of search operations on Monday evening, after Romero’s vehicle was located in a retention pond.
The search for the missing teen began after new cell phone data analysis led officers to the pond located at Lakeview Parkway and Executive Way in Vernon Hills. A resident approached an officer at the scene and informed them of a backpack floating in the water, which was later identified as belonging to Romero.
Hours later, a vehicle matching the one Romero was driving the night she went missing was pulled from the water, but unfortunately, no body was recovered. During a press conference, Police Chief Patrick Kreis said that they would continue to make every effort to find her.
