Body of missing US Navy sailor, 21, is pulled from harbor near Lake Michigan
The body of a missing US Navy sailor has been recovered from a dock near Lake Michigan after he was last seen leaving a bar the day after St. Patrick’s Day.
Seamus grey21, who went missing last month, has been found in Waukegan, Illinois, along the lake, officials said.
At around 7 p.m. Wednesday, Waukegan police officers were conducting a traffic check near the Port of Waukegan when utilities pulled them over, police said.
The ComEd workers were performing routine work near the docks and reported seeing what they believed to be a body in the water.
The Waukegan Fire Department helped an officer pull the body onto the shore and Police Chief Edgardo Navarro said it fit Gray’s physical description.
Seamus Gray (pictured), 21, who went missing last month has been found in Waukegan, Illinois, along the lake, officials said. His mother Kerry Gray (pictured) initially flew from Florida to help with the search
Surveillance footage shows the sailor walking down an alley after leaving the Ibiza Bar on Genesee Street in Waukegan. He was later seen at the intersection of Sheridan Road and Washington Street around 1:40 a.m. on March 18
The clothing on the body also matched his description, WGN9 reported.
The Lake County coroner later confirmed that the body belonged to Gray, according to the outlet.
An autopsy will be performed on Thursday to determine the cause of death.
Gray was last seen leaving a bar in Waukegan on March 18, the day after St. Patrick’s Day, as police described the friends as drunk.
Gray was then sighted walking near the Metra station and did not show up for his 2 p.m. curfew, according to WGN9.
Waukegan and North Chicago police, firefighters, the Office of Naval Intelligence, water rescue crews, and about 100 Navy personnel spent hours over the next few days searching for Gray along the lakeshore.
Gray’s mother, Kerry, also traveled to Waukegan from Florida to find her son.
Detectives found video surveillance footage of Gray leaving the Ibiza Bar on Genesee Street in Waukegan.
The video shows him leaving the bar alone down an alley in a pink outfit, and he was later seen at the intersection of Sheridan Road and Washington Street around 1:40 a.m. on March 18 and had not been seen or spoken to since he left the bar . bar.
Seamus Gray (pictured) was last seen leaving a bar in Waukegan on March 18, the day after St. Patrick’s Day
“Tomorrow I have to do what no mother should ever do. I must search on foot with the police, fire brigade and many others who will help find the body of my son Séamus Gray,” Kerry wrote on March 23.
As I type this, I’m trying not to throw up. I can’t sleep and will not sleep until I have answers about where my son is and what happened to him,” Kerry Gray wrote on social media.
The investigation into the death is still ongoing.
Waukegan Police, the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Lake County Coroner’s Office are involved.
Kerry posted a message on social media shortly after he went missing.
Kerry wrote: ‘The past 8 days have been grueling, sickening, heartbreaking and quite frankly crushing. “This boy is my heart, my world, my love of my life along with his little brother Deck.”
She added, “As I type this, I’m trying not to throw up. I can’t sleep and won’t sleep until I have answers about where my son is and what happened to him.”
In a social media post in March, Kerry wrote that she and a friend participated in the investigation and searched dumpsters for her son’s body.
“Tomorrow I have to do what no mother should ever do. I must search on foot with the police, the fire brigade and many others who will help to find the body of my son Séamus Gray,” she wrote on March 23.
Kerry flew home to Florida a week after the disappearance, saying she was “gutted” she had to leave without finding her son or his body.
“This boy is my heart, my world, my love of my life along with his little brother Deck,” Kerry wrote in a message.
She said she hadn’t been able to sleep and won’t be able to without answers about where her son is or what happened to him.
Seamus was willing to die serving and defending our country. Seamus was not meant to go missing or die in this manner,” Kerry wrote.
Anyone with info, send a tip via the WPD tip app, call the Tip-Line at 847-360-9001 or text the keyword WPDTIP and message/tip to 847411.