An update in one of two highly-publicized drownings in the Chicago area has left many questioning: what happened to Krzysztof Szubert?
Szubert, a 21-year-old Polish businessman working in Chicago, was found unresponsive in Lake Michigan off Oak Street Beach on Dec. 7. He had been reported missing from a River North party and was the subject of a major search effort before his body was discovered.
His death came just days before 25-year-old Peter Salvino, a Northwestern doctoral student who was also found in Lake Michigan after disappearing from a party in Lincoln Park.
On Wednesday, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office released the cause and manner of death for Salvino, listing it as a "drowning with ethanol intoxication as a contributing factor." The manner of death was ruled an accident.
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The update in the Salvino case highlighted the lack of information surrounding Szubert.
NBC Chicago reached out to the Chicago Police Department and the medical examiner's office and both said no new information has been released.
Police said there were no updates in the investigation into Szubert's death and the medical examiner said the cause of death remained "pending."
In late-December, the medical examiner told NBC Chicago the cause of death for Szubert could not be determined until a police investigation was completed.
"The police have to finalize their report and investigation," the spokesperson said at the time. "Once we have all the information from the police, then we determine the manner and cause of death after that."
The medical examiner's office could not provide a time frame as to when that might occur.
Police have not said if there is any connection between the cases.
Here's what we know so far about both cases:
When Krzysztof Szubert Went Missing
Szubert was last seen at approximately 9:45 p.m. on Dec. 3 during a holiday party at the River North bar Howl at the Moon, officials said.
Friends say that Szubert was at the party when he stepped outside.
"I saw him standing there, then the next moment he wasn’t there,” friend Michal Wojasinski told NBC 5. “Nobody saw him leaving. The next day, on Sunday, I went to his room and knocked on door – it was empty – he was not there.”
At approximately on 1:55 a.m. Dec. 7, police responded to a call about a 21-year-old man who was found unresponsive in the water near the 1000 block of North DuSable Lake Shore Drive. The man was later identified as Szubert.
Szubert was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.
Officials have not released a cause of death, and detectives have referred to the incident as a death investigation rather than a drowning.
When Peter Salvino Went Missing
Salvino was last seen Dec. 17 after leaving a party in Lincoln Park in the 2400 block of North Geneva Terrace and had last made contact with a friend through FaceTime while walking back to his apartment at around 12:15 a.m., officials previously said.
In a statement, a family spokesperson explained Salvino talked to a friend via FaceTime at 11:59 p.m. and said that he was walking to his apartment in the 800 block of West Lill Avenue and was about a half-mile away. That friend called again at 12:15 a.m. to confirm that Salvino had arrived home, but the 25-year-old said he was still walking to his residence.
At 12:31 a.m., Salvino's phone pinged a location near Diversey Harbor, the family spokesperson said. Then, at 12:37 a.m., the friend called again to confirm Salvino had gotten home, but the call went unanswered. Several friends sent text messages to his phone between then and 9:30 a.m., the spokesperson said, adding the messages were successfully delivered to his phone but unanswered.
At approximately 9:45 a.m., all calls went straight to voicemail and all text messages went undelivered.
Surveillance video from Lincoln Park restaurant The Wiener's Circle also provided footage of Salvino inside the eatery Saturday night, before he went missing.
According to authorities, at 6 p.m. on Dec. 21, a body, which was later identified as Salvino's, was recovered in Diversey Harbor, near where Salvino's phone had pinged for the final time after his disappearance.
Salvino's family issued a statement a short time after his body was found, thanking police and the public while asking for privacy.
“We are both shattered and relieved to report that, earlier [Tuesday], we found Peter during the marine search of Diversey Harbor. Throughout the last three days, we have been overwhelmed by the support and assistance we’ve received from friends, family and local residents and businesses in our search for Peter,” the statement read. “We are grateful beyond measure for their diligence, without which Peter may never have been found.
“At this time, our family appreciates the public affording us privacy as we process our grief over this devastating loss,” the statement concluded.
In the weeks following, officials said the cause and manner of death were pending toxicology reports.
Upon request from NBC Chicago Wednesday, the medical examiner's office revealed the update on their findings. Salvino's cause of death was "drowning with ethanol intoxication as a contributing factor." The manner of death was ruled an accident.
