COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. — The body of a missing woman with dementia from Country Club Hills was found Saturday morning, according to police.
Yolanda Howell, 78, had been missing for 11 days. At around 9:15 a.m., investigators said a Country Club Hills Police Department Search and Rescue Drone discovered a person lying in a ravine in the Forest Preserves Bartel Grassland property. Family members and police identified the body as Howell.
No foul play is suspected in Howell’s death, according to officials.
It was originally reported that Howell was last seen on October 9, but Ring camera footage confirms it was October 8.
The 78-year-old was last seen near her home at the intersection of 187th Street and Cedar Avenue.
On Monday, Howell’s family made a public plea for the community to get involved in the search.
“I am desperately looking for my mother,” Howell’s daughter, Claudette Edwards, said. “We have no idea where she is. I’m scared, because she is suffering from dementia.”
For the last week, multiple agences, including Chicago police and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, have been searching for Howell. Divers had also been searching bodies of water.
A team of volunteers gathered Saturday in a Cook County forest preserve to continue the search for the woman. The search was called off after her body was discovered.
No further information has been provided.
