After more than a week of searching along Chicago’s lakefront, the disappearance of a beloved teacher has ended in tragedy.
Authorities confirmed Monday that the body of 53-year-old Linda Brown was recovered from Lake Michigan near the 31st Street Harbor. Brown, a special education teacher with Chicago Public Schools, had been missing since January 3, when she left her Bronzeville home to attend an acupuncture appointment and never arrived.
Chicago police said the department’s marine unit recovered a woman’s body just before noon after several days of searching the lakefront. The Cook County Medical Examiner later identified the woman as Brown. A death investigation is ongoing pending autopsy results.
Brown taught at Robert Healy Elementary School in Bridgeport and was last seen in the 4500 block of South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive near her home. Investigators later located her blue Honda Civic near 35th Street and Lake Park Avenue.
Surveillance video reviewed by family members showed Brown parking her car around 3 a.m., exiting the vehicle alone, and walking toward a pedestrian bridge leading to the lakefront. She was last seen crossing the bridge. Her husband, Antwon Brown, said the disappearance was completely out of character.
“Everything was fine,” he said. “Next morning I woke up, it was like 8:35 a.m., and she was gone. No sign of her. I thought she went to acupuncture because she goes to acupuncture on Saturdays.”
When Brown failed to show up for her appointment and could not be reached by phone or text, family members reported her missing. Antwon Brown said she had taken a leave of absence from work to address mental health challenges and was preparing to return to teaching on January 5.
“She has a little mental issues going on, and she took a leave of absence from her job to get help for that,” he told CBS Chicago. “As school was getting closer, it was kind of getting worse, like the anxiety, the panic attacks.”
In a statement confirming her death, Brown’s family thanked the community for its support.
“This is not the outcome we were hoping or praying for, but we are grateful that she has been found and can now be brought home to our family,” the statement read. “The outpouring of support meant more to us than words can express.”
Brown’s niece, Jen River, said Antwon Brown was struggling to process the loss.
“He really thought that we would bring Linda home safely and she would be alive and well,” River told FOX32 Chicago. “He just lost the love of his life.”
As speculation circulated online during the search, River also addressed rumors, emphasizing that Antwon Brown was never a suspect.
“Antwon has always been innocent,” she said. “I’m glad the facts have been released and we can now move on as a family.”
Former students remembered Brown as a teacher who made them feel seen. Rene Lopez, who was taught by Brown along with his siblings and cousins, said she helped him become the first in his family to graduate.
“She just created a sense of community, a safe space within her classroom,” Lopez told WLS. “Although she’s no longer here physically, her legacy will continue.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also issued a statement Monday, calling Brown a vital member of the Bridgeport community and praising her impact on countless young lives.
In a message to families, Healy Elementary’s principal said the school is working with CPS to provide grief counseling and mental health support for students and staff as they mourn the loss.
It remains unclear how Brown ended up in the water. The investigation into her death is ongoing.
