The bodies of two women were recovered from separate sections of the Chicago River by the city’s marine unit officers, according to ABC News. Both women were unresponsive and declared dead at the scene. However, at this time, these cases appear to be disconnected.
Chicago’s Police Department’s (CPD) Marine Unit responded to the river’s South Branch at about 10:40 a.m. CT on Saturday. Police removed 80-year-old Yuet Tsang’s body from the river of the 2800 block of South Eleanor Street near Bridgeport, according to the Cook County Medical examiner’s office.
Tsang is from the Near South Side, reports Officer Jessica Rocco, a Chicago Police spokesperson.
The Chicago Police Marine Unit discovered the second woman in the river’s main branch approximately an hour later. Officers pulled the victim from the river four miles north of the location police found Tsang.
The location where the still-unidentified female was near the 100 block of North Riverside Plaza in the West Loop Gate neighborhood, according to a CPD email, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Detectives are investigating the deaths. On Sunday, county morgue officials will conduct autopsies for Tsang and the unidentified woman.
#ChicagoPolice @CPDMarineUnit M7 recovered two bodies today. One from the #ChicagoRiver South Branch & one from the Main Branch. @Area1Detectives & @Area3Detectives to continue the investigation. pic.twitter.com/Q2qADoyALL
— Chicago Police Marine Unit (@CPDMarineUnit) April 16, 2022
CPD Marine and Helicopter Unit is broken into two distinct operations. Marine Operations officers are responsible for all bodies of water within the city, according to the Chicago Police Department website. Their jurisdiction includes 80 square miles of Lake Michigan, 27 miles of the lake’s shoreline, and 38 miles of the Chicago River system. Marine units also cover Wolf and Calumet lakes and various ponds and lagoons within the city.
Marine Operations personnel are all public safety divers. Their equipment includes seven patrol/rescue boats and a dive response truck for land-based incidents.
The Chicago River is 156 miles long and flows through the city; it connects the Great Lakes and the Mississippi Valley waterways. In the 19th century, engineers reversed the river’s flow to head south, away from Lake Michigan toward the Mississippi River basin.
Chicago’s municipal flag memorializes the river with its two horizontal stripes of blue. Another of the city’s methods to celebrate the river is a three-branched Y-shaped symbol called “the municipal device.” The logo representing the three branches of the Chicago River can be found on buildings and other structures throughout the city.
Written by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
ABC News 7: 2 female bodies found in separate parts of Chicago River, police say
Chicago Tribune: Police: Bodies of 2 women pulled from Chicago River in West Loop, Bridgeport areas; by Stephanie Casanova
Kiddle Encyclopedia: Chicago River Fact for Kids
Chicago Police Department: Marine and Helicopter Unit
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Ian Abbott’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of The West End’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
