More than a week after a Carpentersville teen was reported missing, her body was recovered Tuesday from a Vernon Hills detention pond that police believe she drove into accidentally.

The Countryside Fire Protection District led the search and recovery efforts to locate 17-year-old Brissa Romero the day after her 2008 Nissan Rogue was discovered about 60 feet from the pond’s bank at Executive Way and Lakeview Parkway.

Romero was en route to a holiday party at the Bowlero entertainment venue in Vernon Hills when it’s believed she drove through a T-intersection and into the two-acre lake, which is about 60 feet deep.

Carpentersville police confirmed that Romero’s body was recovered early Tuesday afternoon in a social media post.

“Our hearts go out to Brissa’s family on this difficult day,” the post said.

Members of the family were at the pond and at the Vernon Hills Police Department as divers conducted the search.

Dulce Romero, one of Brissa’s four siblings, said her parents were devastated by the news and the family relying on their faith to help them cope.

“We’ll plead with (the Virgin de Guadalupe) to bring Brissa home,” Romero said shortly before Brissa’s body was found.

Tuesday was the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic feast day, which the Romero family often celebrates by attending services at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, she said. It’s an important day in the Hispanic culture, especially for Brissa’s late grandmother, Elena, who was very religious, she said.

“We feel she is taking care of Brissa right now,” she said.

Although the family held out hope that the teen might be found alive, police said finding the college student’s car and backpack in the pond Monday led them to believe she had likely died.

“Based on the condition of the vehicle and all the evidence we have at this point, it appears that Brissa was in that vehicle when it drove into the lake,” Vernon Hills Police Chief Patrick Kreis said at a news conference he held Monday evening with Carpentersville Police Chief Todd Shaver.

Romero was headed to a party being held by Raising Cane’s, the fast-food restaurant chain for whom she worked. Her cell phone data was last detected in the area near the pond, which prompted officers to take a closer look at the scene Monday, Kreis said.

A woman walking near the pond also spotted a backpack in the water that was later determined to belong to Romero, he said.

Based on surveillance video from a fast-food restaurant captured about 15 minutes before her cell phone signal was lost, it’s believed she was traveling alone, Kreis said. Police also found food wrappers from that restaurant in the water.

Romero’s family, who offered a $14,000 reward for help in finding the teen, said they were grateful to the Vernon Hills and Carpentersville police departments for all their efforts.

Carpentersville police worked in conjunction with Vernon Hills police, which did drone and foot searches of dozens of ponds around the village.

Dulce Romero and her family also organized searches and held vigils in Vernon Hills and Carpentersville.

The youngest of five, Brissa Romero was a 2023 Barrington High School graduate. She wanted to be an ultrasound technician and was in her first semester of study at Harper Community College in Palatine, her family said.

In addition to her job at Raising Cane’s in Crystal Lake, she also worked at Hot and Cold Milk Tea in Schaumburg.

“Brissa was a determined person,” said Dulce Romero, a trait that led her to finish high school early.

“She has a dry sense of humor, which is funny. She doesn’t try to be funny, it just comes out naturally,” she said of her youngest sister. “She always goofs around.”

Brissa was constantly busy, she said. In addition to working two jobs and going to school, she loved working out and going to Mexican dances with Banda music. As a first-generation Mexican American, she straddled two worlds, maintained her Mexican heritage and always spoke Spanish with her parents, Dulce Romero said.

As the oldest child in her family, Dulce said she questions whether she should have accompanied her sister to the party. Had she gone, she said, “this wouldn’t have happened.”

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.

Originally Published: Dec 12, 2023 at 3:08 pm