The body of missing Island Lake teen Abe Gonzalez was located by search teams Friday morning submerged in a swamp, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
Abe Gonzalez, 17, of the 3200 block of Poplar Drive in Island Lake, was last seen attending a party at a home in the 26000 block of Morey Street in unincorporated Wauconda on November 1, police said.
Abe was described as being highly intoxicated when he left the party alone westbound on Maple Avenue from Morey Street shortly after midnight on November 2. Abe’s cellphone battery had died when he got to the party, witnesses told police.
Lake County Sheriff Spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli said that Abe’s body was found by sheriff’s detectives and auxiliary detectives conducting searches on foot around 10:45 a.m. Friday.
The body was a short distance southwest of Slocum Lake completely submerged in water in a swamp and covered in ice, Covelli said.
Police spent hundreds of man-hours searching for Abe. Several police canines, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, auxiliary deputies and volunteers conducted searches for the teen over the past week.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office has scheduled an autopsy for Friday afternoon. No evidence of foul play was located at the scene, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg thanked the Wauconda Fire Protection District, McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, Gurnee Police Department, Buffalo Grove Police Department, Mundelein Police Department, Illinois Search and Rescue Council and all other volunteers who helped with the search.