Watch CBS News

Police Search For Body Of Missing Woman In Marquette Park Lagoon

Updated 07/15/15 - 5:21 p.m.

(CBS) -- The search for a missing woman from Georgia led police to a body of water in Chicago.

Chicago police spent a large part of the day Tuesday and Wednesday at Marquette Park with the Water Department, dragging and draining a lagoon on the east end of the park.

Sources said investigators were searching for the body of Laneesha Miller, who disappeared three weeks ago. Crews were back at the lagoon Wednesday morning, again pumping water out in their search for evidence.

Police have cordoned off an area several blocks long at the southeast edge of the lagoon, and a crane has been brought in to attach a large filter to hoses draining part of the lagoon.

Sources said cadaver dogs have hit on an area along the shoreline, but so far, police have found no sign of Miller.

Miller, a 28-year-old mother of three, was reported missing in late June. She was last seen by a friend in the 9600 block of South Halsted Street. She last spoke to her father on June 21, when she said she was planning on driving to Georgia to visit relatives, but she never made it.

After her family contacted authorities, police issued a community alert in late June.

Laneesha Miller
Laneesha Miller. (Chicago Police Alert)

A friend said Miller's missing Nissan Maxima was found more than a week ago, south of the city.

Then, investigators received a tip Miller might have been killed, and her body dumped in the Marquette Park lagoon.

Dive teams have been brought in as investigators drag the bottom of the park's shallow lagoon. Water Management Department specialists also were called in to drain the water way, and hopefully get to the bottom of the mystery.

Citing sources, the Chicago Tribune reports police received a tip the woman's boyfriend might have killed her, cut up her body, and dumped it in the lagoon. Police would not confirm that information, and have only say they're looking for evidence in a criminal investigation, but nothing has been recovered so far.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.