After weeks of searching for their missing 21-year-old family member, sadly, a Little Village family is now preparing for a funeral instead of a birthday celebration following the discovery of her body inside a shopping cart.
The remains of Rosa Chacon, a 21-year-old woman who was last seen entering an Uber, were discovered inside a laundry cart wrapped in sheets two months after her disappearance. Investigators confirmed that her body was recovered in a suburban Chicago neighborhood located near the 2300 block of West 24th Place.
According to home surveillance footage, Chacon was last seen entering the ride-share vehicle on January 18, but she did not inform her family of her destination. She also left her ID and coat behind.
Rosa Chacon
Chacon’s body was discovered tied together and inside a plastic bag. The cause of her death is yet to be determined.
‘Normally when our daughter leaves, we hear from her. She calls the next day, she calls an hour after she leaves, she’s in a house, she’s secure, she’s nice and warm. But we didn’t hear anything,’ Jose Lucio, the victim’s father, told WLS-TV. ‘I miss my baby.’
The mother of the victim, also named Rosa Chacon, remembered the short conversation she had with her daughter before she disappeared. She informed me that she would return, stating that she had arranged for an Uber ride there and back, her mother informed the news outlet.
Chacon did not inform her parents about her destination or who had arranged for the ride, a decision that her father now regrets. The following morning, Chacon contacted her mother and requested a ride from an unknown location before the phone call abruptly ended.
‘She had asked if I could pick and then the phone went dead and then I called and called and called… and no answer,’ her mother said.
WLS-TV reported that Uber declined to disclose the identity of the driver who transported Chacon on the night she disappeared, citing their privacy policy.
The victim’s body was identified by her family by her tattoos.
‘Her hands were tied up, they were bounded and wrapped up in a sheet – in a plastic bag. She couldn’t do that to herself,’ Lucio told CBS news.
Where her body was found
Her body was found only a few miles away from her home.
‘I don’t know how they have a heart to do somebody like that,’ her mother added.
According to CBS 2, Rosa’s mother stated that she and Rosa were always together and inseparable.
“I was her partner in crime,” said Rosa’s mother. “I was always with her, except that night. She said she had an Uber. I didn’t think she was going anywhere. I laid down. She said ‘I’m leaving in the Uber and I’ll be back.’ That’s the last I heard of my daughter.”
According to Chacon’s family, the police did not offer much assistance when they reported her as a missing person. According to them, they hired a private investigator to search for her after the police suggested that she was likely a runaway.
Finding The Body
“The officer stated that a crime must be committed before any action could be taken,” Chacon’s boyfriend, Alejandro Guzman, told the news outlet.
Chacon was eventually located with the help of a private investigator hired by her family on March 6. Jose L. Richart, from the Richart Detective Agency, explained that they found Chacon a week after releasing a missing person flyer.
“Our office was contacted by the family for help, as they were aware of the many similar cases in Chicago. We commenced our investigation by obtaining Rosa Chacon’s phone records, speaking with numerous individuals and pursuing several leads,” Richart told Newsweek.
Chacon’s community is currently offering a $15,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest of her killer.