The four-door white car was found Thursday morning in a body of water off northbound I-57 in Bourbonnais, Ill.
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The family of Sheila Khalili, 27, from northwest suburban Schaumburg, said it's like she dropped off the face of the Earth. One minute, she was headed to school. The next, she was gone.
The Olivet Nazarene University student was last seen Friday, driving near I-57 and I-294. The nursing student had just finished up classes for the semester a few days earlier and was returning to school from Schaumburg to meet friends.
Khalili was last seen driving a white 2016 Toyota Corolla with Illinois license plate Z750932. Around 3:30 a.m. Thursday, a Kankakee County deputy was searching the shoulder area of I-57 and found a white side-view mirror and a front car bumper with Illinois license plate Z750932 attached near mile marker 317, on the east side of the interstate, near a construction pond. The discovery prompted a dive team search of the pond, where the car and body were found.
Police said the preliminary investigation indicates it was a one-vehicle fatal traffic accident. Illinois State Police will be conducting the accident investigation. The death investigation is being conducted by the Kankakee County coroner and an autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.
The car apparently crossed the highway median, then two lanes of northbound traffic before crashing into a tree and winding up in the pond.
Khalili's iPass made a transaction near I-57 and I-294 sometime Thursday into Friday morning and her cell phone last pinged near an exit in Bourbonnais.
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Khalili's brothers were extremely concerned about her, given her car was missing and she hasn't used her bank account or phone since 2 a.m. on May 5.
"We're just not whole without her, we're not complete. We're just anxiously anticipating her coming home," said Bobby Khalili, Sheila's brother.
"She's very responsible. She's always in touch with us, has very close friends, very big heart," said Farsheed Khalili, Sheila's brother.
Police said so far friends and family have been fully cooperating with the investigation.
Her family had offered a $20,000 reward for anyone who knows where she is. Anyone with information should call 911 or the Schaumburg Police Department at 847-882-3534.