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Missing Chicago Woman Last Seen Jogging Along Lakefront

CHICAGO (CBS) --A 21-year-old West Ridge woman has been missing for two weeks and her family wants to locate two people who may have seen her jogging near Montrose and the lakefront.

Jessica Suarez went for a run along the lakefront early in the morning of Thursday, Feb. 25 and that was when she disappeared. Her sister Adelina says Jessica always runs on weekends in the evening.

"My mom told her, 'Well, you could always go jogging around the neighborhood,' and she said that she liked jogging at the lake because she could see the water," she said.

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Adelina says surveillance cameras do show Jessica jogging and then she runs out of camera range near the bird sanctuary at Montrose. She says as her sister is still in the frame, you can see two other people - apparently just people out walking their dogs.

"Two people saw her," she said. "Two people saw her enter that bird trail. I really want to know who those people are because those people saw her."

She says a police detective is looking for more surveillance video.

"Right now he's waiting for the other cameras, where the bird trail ends, to see if she did come out of the bird trail - or if something happened to her right there in the bird trail."

Jessica Suarez
Jessica Suarez

Adelina Suarez says in the meantime, family and friends have been searching the trail near Montrose Harbor.

"Family members and neighbors and people we don't even know have been going to that bird trail to see if they find anything - keys, phone, scarf, but nothing yet."

Adelina says Jessica apparently took her phone with her, and it has been off - and untraceable.

Although Jessica's 2000 Honda Civic was found parked near Foster and Simonds, the family believes it's possible someone harmed her.

"What else could've happened to her," Adelina said. "She didn't fall in the water. Detectives suggested maybe wave took her? No, she was too far away from the waves when she was jogging. The camera footage ends at a bird trail and there's no cameras that show inside that bird trail. Something happened to her."

A spokesman for the Chicago Police Department said in a statement that the department, "Is actively investigating the facts behind Ms. Suarez' disappearance. At this time, there are no indications that her disappearance is linked to nefarious activity by a third party. CPD detectives are in regular communication with her family and ask anyone with additional information to contact Area North SVU at (312) 744-8261."

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