Missing woman's body found tied up in shopping cart in SW Side alley, family says
$15K reward offered for information leading to arrest in 20-year-old Rosa Chacon's death
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The family of a 21-year-old woman who has been missing for months said Friday she was found dead on Chicago's Southwest Side.
Relatives of Rosa Chacon say her body was found in a shopping cart, tied up and wrapped in sheets in an alley in the 2300-block of West 24th Place.
"I miss my baby," her father Jose Lucio said. "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."
"I don't know how they have a heart to do somebody like that," said Rosa Chacon, the victim's mother.
The woman was last seen by her family outside her home on January 18. Home security camera video shows Chacon getting into a rideshare in the 2800-block of South St. Louis Avenue. Chacon's family said she didn't take anything with her, including her coat or ID.
"She said, 'I'll be back mom. I got the Uber ride there and the Uber ride back,' that's what she told me," her mother said.
The Cook County medical examiner will determine her cause of death. Relatives said they identified her by the tattoos on her body.
"She was the party type. She was not trouble," said Juan Lucio, her brother.
Her mother said she didn't know where her daughter was going or who ordered the ride for her and that Uber refused to say. A spokesperson the company says they don't release private information for privacy and policy reasons.
Meanwhile, the family did report Rosa missing to Chicago police, but their concern turned to anger after they say authorities did little to help them.
"The cop said a crime had to be committed for them to do anything," said Alejandro Guzman, the victim's boyfriend.
After months of searching and handing out flyers on their own, they hired their own private investigator.
The gruesome discovery comes as a 20-year-old Guatemalan migrant was found shot to death in the same community last month.
Reina Cristina Ical was found shot to death in a Little Village alley near the 2400-block of S. Drake Avenue. Her death was ruled a homicide.
So far, no arrests have been made in that case.
"Be sure to watch your daughters more closely," Chacon's father said. "Don't trust anybody."
As Chicago police continue to investigate, community activists are offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible.
