Young woman missing from Little Village since January found dead in shopping cart in West Side alley: family

The body of 21 year-old Rosa Chacon was found bound and wrapped in sheets in a laundry cart on Wednesday in a West Side alley more than a month after she went missing, according to her family and authorities.

The family hired a private investigator after reporting the woman missing on January 18, when Chacon was last seen getting into a ride share in the 2800 block of South St. Louis Avenue at night, but the family said they are unsure of where she was going.

In a statement, the Richart Detective Agency said after “working closely with the family” they located Chacon. Chicago police said she was dead on the scene in the 2300 block of West 24th Place about 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday.

The mother of Rosa Chacon, center, also named Rosa Chacon, receives a hug following a press conference and small vigil to remember her daughter near the corner of 24th Place and Western Avenue in Chicago on March 17, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Her father, Jose Lucio, told the Tribune his daughter was bound, wrapped in sheets and found in a laundry cart.

A Thursday autopsy was inconclusive and still pending, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

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Lucio had voiced his concerns about his daughter and the lack of help from Chicago police and the local alderman to activists in the area, said Dolores Castañeda, a community leader who worked closely with the father to raise awareness of the case.

“They are completely heartbroken,” Castañeda said. Chacon would have been celebrating her 22nd birthday on March 18.

Rosa Chacon stands behind a missing person flyer for her daughter, also named Rosa Chacon, during a press conference and small vigil to remember the 21-year-old near the corner of 24th Place and Western Avenue in Chicago on March 17, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Family and friends of Chacon gathered in a vigil on Friday night where they announced that the family is offering a $15,000 reward for more information leading to an arrest for Chacon’s death and demanding that the FBI gets involved.

“I want justice for my daughter,” said her mother Rosa Chacon.

On Saturday, activists and family will join again in solidarity to release balloons to honor Chacon on her birthday.

Anyone with information should contact Area 4 special victims unit detectives, 312-746-8251.

Larodriguez@chicagotribune.com