A woman, who was the subject of hours of searching overnight after police spotted her at 1:30 a.m. swimming off the Dempster Street beach, has reappeared.
Fire Chief Greg Klaiber says that just after 7 a.m., the woman, wearing little or no clothing, walked into the Dempster Street beach house.
Klaiber says she hid somewhere officials spent hours searching for her overnight.
Klaiber says that around 1:30 a.m. police spotted the woman swimming off shore. He says their calls to her were ignored and she continued out into the water. When police didn’t see her return, they called fire units to the scene.
A regional dive team, along with U.S. Coast Guard and Chicago Fire Department helicopters and Evanston’s Lifeguard boat also took part in the search.
Klaiber says the “exhaustive and thorough search,” which included using sonar to try to locate the woman, failed to find her, and the search was called off for the night sometime after 4 a.m., but resumed after dawn.
Klaiber says that during the night police found the woman’s clothes at the beach along with identification that indicates she’s a 49-year-old Chicago resident. Her car also was located nearby.
Klaiber says police are considering whether to file charges against her.
