Autopsy Finds Thomas Howe, Whose Body Was Found In Des Plaines River, Apparently Drowned
LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. (CBS) -- An autopsy on Wednesday determined that Thomas "Tommy" Howe – whose body was found in the Des Plaines River near Libertyville more than three weeks after he was reported missing – appears to have drowned.
Howe's parents had been offering a $10,000 reward as they ask for the public's help in finding their son.
Police said the 24-year-old had last been seen around 11 a.m. on Jan. 22, after he was involved a crash near the Tri-State Tollway and Illinois Route 176 in Libertyville. Howe was last seen wearing a gray North Face jacket and jeans.
His work cell phone was found two days later in the Old School Forest Preserve in Mettawa.
Antioch police said last Friday, a kayaker in the Des Plaines River saw a jacket along the shoreline that matched the description of the one Howe was last seen wearing.
The kayaker called police, and teams of K9 units and fire department dive teams spent Friday and Saturday searching the river. Due to unfavorable conditions, the search had to be called off until Tuesday afternoon, when a body preliminarily identified as Howe's was found.
The Lake County Coroner's office reported that an autopsy determined Howe's body had signs consistent with drowning. Further testing will take place in the weeks to come.