The car owned by a woman who was last seen leaving her home on May 12 was pulled from the north branch of the Chicago River Saturday afternoon.
A body was inside, officials said, though there's no confirmation of identity.
Irma Sabanovic's blue Ford Focus was pulled near Elston Avenue and Blackhawk Street. An NBC Chicago photographer made the confirmation after seeing the vehicle's license plate.
Several of Sabanovic's friends were gathered as crews lifted the car from the water.
"We were hoping to find a better result than we found today," said Evelina Mehanovic, who had attended Mather High School with Sabanovic and created a Facebook page which had raised just under $15,000 in donations toward the search ever since the woman went missing.
"I’m very sad and very confused," said Mehanovic, as she waited at the river’s edge for the car to be pulled up.
Sabanovic disappeared more than a week ago. She left her home, in the 1900 block of West Hood Avenue, with the intention of going to the Exit nightclub near Elston and North, a missing persons alert said.
At 2 a.m., she sent a text message to a friend telling him that she was lost near Milwaukee and Erie.
That was the last communication from Sabanovic, the alert
Family and friends had held out hope that Sabanovic would be located safely. She was supposed to take a flight on Monday to her native Bosnia, but passport and airport records showed she never boarded the plane, friends told NBC Chicago this week.
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| Irma Sabanovic's blue Ford Focus was pulled near Elston Avenue and Blackhawk Street. |
