The body Chicago Police recovered early Wednesday from Lake Michigan is that of a University of Chicago student who went missing a week ago, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed.
South Shore artist and fisherman Eddie Hudson found the body at about 6:30 a.m. while casting out his line into the lake at Oakwood Drive.
Austin Hudson-LaPore, 20, a third-year student at the U of C, was last seen around 8:30 p.m. on June 12 at his apartment on the 5300 block of South Kimbark Avenue. His bod was recovered near the 3900 block of South Lake Shore Drive.
"I looked to my right and I saw what appeared to be a log," recalled Hudson. "Me and my wife, we've been following it on the news, and I didn't think it was him because there was so much stuff going on. It could have been anyone."
LaPore's family expressed gratitude to those who searched for the young man. A Thursday press conference was planned where they hoped to say more.
Those who knew LaPore said he was a happy student who didn't suffer from any emotional problems and had a fascination with the weather. Storms rolled into Chicago the night Hudson-LaPore went missing, and his father said he might have gone outside to check out the storms without taking his wallet or cell phone.
