Body found in pond near where NW suburban man missing
BY BRIDGET O’SHEA AND HANNAH KOHUT Pioneer Press November 9, 2012 4:08PM
Vance Nwankwo / photo provided
Updated: November 9, 2012 7:38PM
The body of a missing South Barrington man was found in a pond in the the northwest suburb Friday, near where he was last seen on Halloween, police said.
Vance Chidera Nwankwo’s mom filed a missing person report with South Barrington police Nov. 1, two days after Nwankwo was last seen, said Deputy Police Chief Raymond Cordell.
On Friday, the Barrington Fire Department found his body using sonar equipment.
Nwankwo was last seen dressed in an Incredible Hulk costume for Halloween.
“We’ve been searching and looking, and we’ve even had a canine unit out, but they weren’t able to find anything,” said Cordell of the initial search efforts.
Nwankwo’s friends said his cell phone, wallet and keys were left in his home and one of his shoes was found outside. Barrington sisters Heidi and Shari Witas were among a group of friends helping in the search.
“We were so eager to help because he was the kind of person who would have been so eager to help someone else,” said Heidi Witas, who graduated from Barrington High School a couple of years before Nwankwo. “He was a kind person with a good heart. The general sentiment about him is how much he would do for other people.”
South Barringotn police said Nwankwo’s body has been transported to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the investigation remains open pending the results of an autopsy.
