Body of missing Ph.D. student Peter Salvino pulled from Diversey Harbor
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The body of a missing Northwestern University Ph.D. student was pulled from the water in Diversey Harbor Tuesday evening.
The police Marine Unit removed the body from the harbor near Cannon and Fullerton drives around 5:15 p.m. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office confirmed it was the body of Peter Salvino, 25, who was reported missing over the weekend.
The Salvino family released this statement:
"We are both shattered and relieved to report that, earlier today, we found Peter during the marine search of Diversey Harbor. Throughout the last three days, we have been overwhelmed by the support and assistance we've received from friends, family, and local residents and businesses in our search for Peter. We are grateful beyond measure for their diligence, without which Peter may not have been found. At this time, our family appreciates the public affording us privacy as we process our grief over this devastating loss."
Salvino's friends and family had been out looking for clues into his disappearance. They searched alleys in Lincoln Park in the frigid weather on Monday night.
Salvino vanished Saturday night. The 25-year-old was spotted in a photo at The Wieners Circle, 2622 N. Clark St., before meeting friends at a house party. The restaurant posted surveillance photos of Salvino.
Police said the last contact made with Salvino was on FaceTime early Sunday. He arrived at the party in the 2400 block of North Geneva Terrace, but never made it when he left to head home.
The section of Diversey Harbor where the body was found late Tuesday is less than a mile to the east of where Salvino was last seen. Diversey Harbor was where his phone last pinged over the weekend, and where is friends and family searched until the grim discovery.
Area Three police detectives had put out a missing persons bulletin for Salvino. It has now been voided out with the word "located" in a way that clearly was not the outcome friends or family wanted.
Late Tuesday, we still did not know how Salvino died or whether foul play was involved. An autopsy will determine the next steps in the case.
But it is, of course, a difficult time for Salvino's family as they deal with the worst outcome – especially so close to the holidays.