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Author Topic: Alma Mendez - mother of 3 - Chicago Heights, IL 10/28/07(BODY FOUND)  (Read 16392 times)
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klaasend
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« on: October 29, 2007, 11:18:36 PM »

http://www.nbc5.com/news/14452949/detail.html?dl=mainclick
 
Puzzled Police: Woman Disappears During Afternoon Jog
Family Distraught After Woman Disappears

POSTED: 6:40 pm CDT October 29, 2007
UPDATED: 7:13 pm CDT October 29, 2007


CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. -- A Chicago Heights woman went for a run Sunday in a local forest preserve and hasn't been seen since.

A spokesman for the police department said the circumstances of Alma Mendez's disappearance are truly unusual.

Mendez is a mother of three -- she has two teenage sons and a 6-year-old.

Her family said Mendez went jogging Sunday afternoon as she does every day near 26th and Eukland streets.

Relative Rudy Mendez said she's never disappeared like this before.

"Everyone's looking for her," he said.

Mike Romano at the Chicago Heights Police Department said Mendez is "usually straight forward in what she does -- she always does what would be expected and all of a sudden she goes out jogging and disappears."

Mendez is 4-foot-11 inches tall, 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a jogging suit, possibly with the letters NYCO on it.

There has been no activity on her cell phone since she disappeared, police said.

If you have any information about Mendez, call Chicago Heights police.



« Last Edit: October 30, 2007, 09:31:19 PM by klaasend » Logged
MumInOhio
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« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2007, 06:38:10 AM »

South Chicago Woman Disappears During Jog
Mother Of 3 Was Last Heard From On Afternoon Of Her Disappearance
 Reporting
Dana Kozlov SOUTH CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. (CBS) ― Relatives are searching desperately Monday night for a missing mother of three. Alma Mendez is an avid runner. Last anyone heard she was headed for her favorite spot: a south suburban forest preserve near 26th Street and Euclid Avenue near Chicago Heights.

As CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports, at least three departments are involved in this case, including Chicago Heights. So far, though, there's been no sign of Mendez, and relatives are hoping the public can help find her.

Mendez's family was not deterred by the setting sun and encroaching darkness Monday afternoon. About a dozen of her relatives spent the day handing out flyers hoping for some information about where she might be.

The 39-year-old has been missing since Sunday afternoon. Police say she left her Chicago Heights home to go for a jog in the Sauk Trail Woods, something she did almost every day. At about 1:20 p.m., Mendez talked to her sister by cell phone while on the way to the woods. Police believe that was the last time anyone talked with her.

"After she ended the conversation, everything was fine," said Lt. Michael Romano of the Chicago Heights Police Department. "She was gonna go out and do her thing, and then the next thing you know, nobody hears from her."

After a few hours, relatives went looking for her and found her car in the preserve lot. It was untouched, a child's Halloween costume in the back seat.

Police searched the area Sunday night. Multiple agencies, including the Cook County Forest Preserve police, Cook County Sheriff's police and South Chicago Heights police, searched Monday for Mendez, but found nothing.

Her relatives describe Mendez as a sweet, responsible mother, and hope she simply walked away. But they fear the worst.

"If she sees this, Alma please, call us, let us know you're doing well," said Javier Mendez, Alma's cousin.

Police say Mendez left a message on a friend's answering machine – after she'd talked to her sister – saying she had to talk to her about something important.

Police questioned Mendez's husband Monday, too.

Sources also tell CBS 2 that Mendez's cell phone has global positioning system. It tracked to an area around the woods Sunday. It tracked to an area near Steger Monday, less than 10 miles from where her car was found.

cbs2chicago.com's Most Popular Pages
___________________________________________________________________

This article has a little more information especially about Alma's cell phone. A similar article stated that Alma is an Office Manager at a dental office in Stegar which is where the last ping on her cell came from. Also that Alma has been separated from her husband for about 3 weeks
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Jennifer34
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« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2007, 09:21:39 AM »

wow, I hope they find her safe.  It sure doesnt sound good.  I guess they are searching where the last cell pings came from?
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« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2007, 12:29:24 PM »

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=4774674&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1

See video above:

Chicago  --  Search teams with dogs will continue today to hunt for Alma Mendez. She's a Chicago Heights mother of three who disappeared Sunday while jogging. Anne Kavanagh has the latest
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« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2007, 04:09:56 PM »

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=5733154

Body found in forest preserve lake
No identification released

 By Dan Ponce


October 30, 2007 (SOUTH CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill.) - A body has been found at a Chicago Heights forest preserve where police were searching for a missing mother of three. The body has not been identified.


The body was pulled from the Sauk Lake, also called the 26th Street Lake by area residents, around 2:30 p.m.

Authorities say 39-year-old Alma Mendez was at the Sauk Trail Woods Forest Preserve in South Chicago Heights on Sunday. She has not been seen since then. Police are now using her cell phone records to help locate her.

Police confirm that Mendez's cell phone signal came from the forest preserve, but so far they have not been able to locate the phone.

Friends, family and volunteers will try and comb through every inch of the forest preserve looking for clues. They gathered Tuesday morning at the entrance to South Trail Woods. After figuring out a strategy they split into small groups and headed into the forest.

"We will just be walking the trails, see if we can, you know, just find anything, maybe help the police here find something that somebody might be overlooking," said Jessie Ledezma, Mendez's sister.

Alma Mendez's sister Jessie was the last person to speak with her before she disappeared. The 39-year-old mother was out for her daily 3.5 mile run Sunday afternoon. During the run, around 2 p.m., she called her sister and left a message for one of her friends. By 5:30, when she didn't come home, her family started to worry.

Chicago Heights police searched the forest preserve Monday. They found her car but had no luck finding Mendez.

"Her smallest son Brian doesn't even know his mom is missing. He is very, very attached to his mom," said Ledezma.

Police say they were able to trace the signal from her cell phone to somewhere in the forest preserve. Tuesday morning, volunteers were on hand to help, even though many didn't know the missing woman.

Volunteer Jerry Prokop even brought his ATV.

"People have good intentions. But they walk for an hour at 1 mph and they are whipped. An ATV doesn't get tired," said Prokop.

"I know a lot of places they could be. I'm going to try my best to find her because this is sad," said Carlos Rosales.

"She has three kids that she needs to go ahead and take care of. And they need their mother. So everybody come out here and support us, please," said Sylvia Marian.

Chicago Heights Police say Mendez's husband is assisting in the investigation. Monday, he declined an on-camera interview with ABC7, but he said he and his wife have separated and they haven't seen each other for a couple of days.

Meanwhile, Chicago Heights Police are hoping to have some kind of update to this investigation Tuesday afternoon.

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« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2007, 05:04:08 PM »

http://www.wbbm780.com/Cops:-Mom-Went-For-Jog--Never-Came-Home/1147645

Posted: Tuesday, 30 October 2007 3:44PM

Cops: Mom Went For Jog, Never Came Home

 
CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. (WBBM)  -- Authorities confirm that a woman fitting the description of the missing mother of three, Alma Mendez, was pulled from a shallow body of water near the forest preserve where she was last seen jogging.

WBBM's Steve Miller reports.

Authorities resumed their search Tuesday for Mendez, 38, in the Sauk Trail Woods Forest Preserve near her home in Chicago Heights.

A woman's body was found in a shallow body of water that fits the missing woman's description, according to Richard Waszak, Chief of the Cook County Forest Preserve police department.

Waszak tells Newsradio 780 a body has been found in about two feet of water.

"One of the volunteers that was walking in the Sauk Trail Woods came across the body of a female in the water, in the lake here.  Fully clothed.  The body was lying along the shoreline here in the water."

WBBM: Does the body fit the description of Alma Mendez?

"Yes, it does."

He could not however confirm that the body was that of Mendez.

Chicago Heights Police Lieutenant Michael Romano says Mendez was talking to her sister on a cell phone Sunday, right before Mendez started jogging.

"No abrupt ending to the telephone call.  No need for alarm by the sister she was talking to.  As a matter of fact, she was in good spirits, according to the sister, while she was outside doing her daily exercise routine."

Mendez' locked car was found near the forest preserve and the investigators are concerned that Mendez may have been the victim of foul play, Lt. Romano said.

She has been separated from her husband for about a month, authorities say.  They say he has been cooperating in the search.

Mendez is the mother of an 18-year-old boy, a 14-year-old girl, and a 6-year-old boy and works in a dental office in Steger as office manager, Romano said.

She was last seen wearing a blue jogging suit with white lettering on the jacket. 
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« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2007, 06:08:55 PM »

http://www.nbc5.com/news/14462097/detail.html

NBC5.com
 
Report: Body Found In Forest Preserve May Be Missing Jogger

POSTED: 3:12 pm CDT October 30, 2007
UPDATED: 3:38 pm CDT October 30, 2007


CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. -- Authorities may have found the body of a Chicago Heights woman who disappeared while jogging Sunday in a forest preserve.

Richard Waszak, chief of the Cook County Forest Preserve Police, said the body was found in about 2 feet of water in a lake in the Sauk Trail Woods Forest Preserve, according to WBBM Radio.

Authorities believe the body is that of of Alma Mendez, a mother of three missing since Sunday, WBBM reported.

The body, which was found fully clothed, fits the description of Mendez.

Authorities said Mendez, 39, called her sister on a cell phone as she drove to the forest preserve on Sunday and hasn't been heard from since.

Chicago Heights Police Lieutenant Michael Romano said the woman ended the call after she began her run.

At about 4 p.m., another relative tried to call her but couldn't reach her. Two hours later, family members found her late-model sport-utility vehicle in a parking lot.

Officers from the Cook County Forest Preserve police and surrounding police departments searched the woods on Sunday and Monday for the woman.
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« Reply #7 on: October 30, 2007, 06:20:06 PM »

Click on picture to watch video:

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klaasend
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« Reply #8 on: October 30, 2007, 09:35:08 PM »

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,306237,00.html

Body of Missing Chicago Mom Who Disappeared on Daily Jog Found
Tuesday , October 30, 2007


CHICAGO —

The body of a Chicago mom who disappeared while jogging Sunday was found in a lagoon near the forest preserve where she disappeared, the woman's family confirmed to FOX News Tuesday.

Alma Mendez, 39, a mother of three, was last heard from on Sunday at about 2 p.m. when she left a friend a voicemail saying she had something important to talk about.

She was found wearing the same jogging suit she had been wearing Sunday.


Star Garcia, a long time friend of Mendez's, told FOX News that the woman's husband, Conrad Mendez, was questioned by police and put it a squad car. It wasn't immediately clear whether or not he had been arrested.

The couple was separated three weeks ago.

Yesenia Ledezma, Alma Mendez's sister, had told FOX News that her sister was a devoted mother who would not have left her children.

"Anything is possible," Ledezma said, adding that she's trying to stay positive.

She never returned home after her jog, Chicago Heights police Sgt. Ron Simonetti said.

Search crews found her vehicle "parked, locked and in good condition," Simonetti said. There was no sign of foul play. During the search crews found Mendez’s vehicle.
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Jennifer34
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« Reply #9 on: October 31, 2007, 09:36:27 AM »

So maybe the husband did have something to do with it?  How sad for those children and her sister.
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« Reply #10 on: October 31, 2007, 09:49:00 AM »

So maybe the husband did have something to do with it?  How sad for those children and her sister.


Couldn't find any new updates.  I especially feel for the youngest child though they will all have a terrible time with this.
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« Reply #11 on: October 31, 2007, 10:28:28 AM »

The local news is saying that Alma's throat was slashed.  She was found fully clothed. 

Another woman saw Alma jogging that day, said Alma  was on her phone.  This is so sad.  She was well like where she worked.   

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« Reply #12 on: October 31, 2007, 10:41:11 AM »

By Matthew Walberg and Jason Meisner | Tribune staff reporters
6:03 AM CDT, October 31, 2007
  Authorities say the throat of a Chicago Heights mother whose body was found yesterday appears to have been slashed. An autopsy scheduled for later today was expected to reveal the cause of death.

Alma Mendez had been missing since she went jogging in Sauk Trail Woods Forest Preserve on Sunday. Her body was found Tuesday floating in a lake just yards from the path, police said.

Investigators said today that her body was fully clothed and her throat appeared to have been slashed.

The discovery of her body brought to a close a painstaking search of the forest preserve in South Chicago Heights after Mendez was reported missing Sunday night.

"Obviously, this afternoon the body of the woman missing from Chicago Heights was in fact found here in the forest preserve," said Cook County Forest Preserve Chief Richard Waszak. There was no identification found on the body, he said, but the clothing matched the description of the outfit Mendez was wearing when she left for her jog. "We believe that this is, in fact, the missing person."

A positive identification of the body had not been made, a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office said this morning.

Volunteers found the body floating about 15 feet from the bank of Sauk Lake and about 20 yards from the jogging path, authorities said.

Sonia Chavez , 33, a friend of Mendez's, was part of the search group Tuesday. About 1 p.m., she said she heard a commotion.

"I heard screaming, and they said, 'It's her, it's her!'" Chavez said.

She said she caught a glimpse of the body and what appeared to be Mendez's blue jogging suit.

Mendez, 39, of the 300 block of West 14th Place was last heard from between 1:30 and 2 p.m. Sunday, when she talked on her cell phone with her sister, and then with a close friend. She drove from her home to the preserve for her daily jog.

When she did not return calls from her son later that day, he grew worried and asked his mother's sister Maria Lopez to go look for her. Lopez and her husband found Mendez's 2005 Ford Freestyle SUV in the parking lot, but there was no sign of Mendez.

Dozens of family members, police and volunteers searched the densely wooded preserve from 8 p.m. Sunday until around 3:30 a.m. Monday. The search resumed at daybreak Monday and continued until nightfall.

On Tuesday, police made plans to search the lake, but about 2 p.m. the body was spotted by volunteers walking near the water's edge.

Mendez, a mother of three, had recently separated from her husband of 19 years. Police interviewed him along with other family members, and on Tuesday afternoon Chicago Heights police Lt. Michael Romano said the husband told authorities he was with his family all day Sunday.

At this point, the case is considered a death investigation, not a homicide, Romano said. An autopsy was expected to be performed Wednesday.

Mendez's sisters and immediate family members, who watched from a hilltop as police removed the body from the water, declined to speak with reporters.

A searcher who identified himself as a relative said the discovery was heartbreaking.

"I was on the other side of a field when [another volunteer with him] got a call on his cell phone saying they found a body in the lake," said Juan Rosales. "We ran to the other side, and that's when we found out it was her. I didn't want to see. I had to turn away."



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« Reply #13 on: October 31, 2007, 05:16:41 PM »

Fox news just reported a positive identification...it is Alma. It appears her throat was slashed. No other details at this time.
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« Reply #14 on: October 31, 2007, 05:52:59 PM »

You don't just kill, by slashing the neck, some random woman jogging in the park.  This was either a paid "hit" or a hate crime, IMO;

http://www.nbc5.com/news/14462097/detail.html

BREAKING NEWS: Authorities Confirm Slashed Body That Of Missing Jogger
Mother Of 3 Last Seen Jogging Sunday

POSTED: 3:12 pm CDT October 30, 2007
UPDATED: 3:57 pm CDT October 31, 2007


CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill. -- Cook County Sheriff’s Police Investigators have confirmed that a family member has identified the body found at Sauk Trail Woods on Tuesday as that of missing jogger Alma Mendez of Chicago Heights.

A body found Tuesday in a forest preserve lake and believed to be a missing Chicago Heights mother of three was the victim of an assault and several incise wounds to her neck, an autopsy Wednesday revealed.

The medical examiner's office said it will not need to examine dental records because the body is not badly decomposed. The cold weather and relatively minimal exposure to the water may have contributed to the body's preservation.
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« Reply #15 on: November 01, 2007, 02:58:12 PM »

I can't find anything new on this.  I wonder if they think this is some random act of violence?  I am prone to think like you Klass, Seems odd that their is just a jogger slasher hiding in the bushes .... Rolling Eyes
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« Reply #16 on: November 01, 2007, 03:08:43 PM »

I can't find anything new on this.  I wonder if they think this is some random act of violence?  I am prone to think like you Klass, Seems odd that their is just a jogger slasher hiding in the bushes .... Rolling Eyes

You Monkeys have my vote on this one.... she is recently separated. 
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« Reply #17 on: November 09, 2007, 07:28:39 AM »

In the woods, in her memory
(http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/635221,110507mendez.article)

November 5, 2007

By Duaa Eldeib, Staff writer

A lone strip of yellow police tape wrapped around a thin tree blew in the biting wind near the lake in Sauk Trail Woods Forest Preserve where the body of 38-year-old Alma Mendez was found just days ago.

Elise Ziemann stood a short distance from that very tree Tuesday as she witnessed police pull out the body family members identified as the mother of three.

"I felt sad, and I cried, and I didn't even know her," Ziemann said.

Ziemann returned Sunday to the same spot with more than 50 family members, friends and strangers in a walk organized by Isabelle Simard to honor Mendez's memory.

Mendez, of Chicago Heights, went missing during a routine jog along the forest preserve trail Oct. 28. Her body was discovered with a slit throat, bruises and blunt trauma to the head, authorities said.

"Any time it's a woman who is close to your age, it makes your mortality a reality," Ziemann said.

For many who attended, the walk was a way of lending the family support and protesting senseless violence.

"We need a better world for our kids," said one Chicago Heights man who declined to be identified. "We can't ignore what's going on. We can't ignore violence and drugs."

Mendez had worked in a dental clinic in Steger with Alice Gately, who went to the walk with her sister.

"In memory of her, we decided to come out here and walk and miss her," said Gately, of Homewood. "She was always so kind and nice to everyone."

"We hope that the mystery gets solved," Gately added.

Sheriff's police are urging anyone with information on the homicide to to call (847) 635-1188.

Even people who didn't know Mendez, like Gloria Deleon, of Chicago Heights, felt connected enough to Mendez to walk in her name.

"We just wanted to show our support and try to make something good out of something bad," Deleon said.

Deleon's 7-year-old granddaughter Jade Deleon, of Steger, walked, as did Deleon's sister Irma, who drove 50 miles from the northwest suburbs to attend.

Deleon's golden retriever Mandy walked alongside them with a handwritten sign around her neck that read "I walk for Alma."

Joe Vega never met Mendez, but as a fellow runner, he felt as though he knew her. Vega said he used to run the trail for more than 25 years, but he stopped about six years ago when he said he noticed it becoming more dangerous.

"If I saw a girl alone, I'd stop her and say, 'Don't run by yourself,' " Vega said. "I think it's important that we give the family condolences from everybody."

The support was not lost on Javier Mendez, Alma's cousin, who fought back tears as the wind whipped his face.

"We want to thank all the volunteers who helped search for her and that came to the wake and the funeral," he said.

Javier Mendez expressed special gratitude to those who came to the walk and placed flowers as a reminder of a life lost.

"It means a lot to honor her and to be with her the last place she was at," he said.

Duaa Eldeib can be reached at deldeib@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5960.

 


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« Reply #18 on: March 23, 2008, 01:03:04 PM »

Reward offered in woman's Oct. murder

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=5930151

SOUTH CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL (WLS) -- A reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in the murder of a woman last seen jogging in a forest preserve.
Alma Mendez was found murdered near South Chicago Heights in October.
Her family is contributing $5,000 to a reward fund. Another $1,000 is coming from Cook County Crimestoppers.
Her body was discovered in a lake at the Sauk Trail Woods forest preserve.
She jogged near that lake almost every day.
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