Chicago residents are demanding answers following the recent disappearances of four local women—including two teens—that some fear could be connected.
WGN-TV reported that the four women, Sadaria Davis, 15; Shantieya Smith, 26; Victoria Garrett, 15; and Anna Stanislawczyk, 18, vanished in Chicago’s West Side between March 16 and June 5. The women’s gender and ages coupled with the fact that all four women vanished within blocks of one another has led some locals to believe that they might have a serial offender on their hands.
“We started noticing that young women were disappearing and nobody was finding them,” Rev. Robin Hood told the local station on Thursday. “Our biggest fear is there is some type of predator loose, whether they’re kidnapping or murdering, we need answers.”
Despite possible similarities, Chicago police said they have no evidence that the four disappearances are linked.
So far, a body discovered May 11 in a vacant apartment in an East Garfield Park building was confirmed as Davis. Her body was found six blocks from where she vanished on April 27.
A preliminary autopsy failed to determine the 15-year-old’s cause or manner of death, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
WGN-TV reported that one family is currently waiting to learn whether a body found Thursday underneath a car parked in a garage belongs to Smith. The 26-year-old was last seen May 25 on the 1600 block of South Central Avenue; the garage is reportedly located on the same street on the 1800 block.
Witnesses described the body as badly decomposed and having the same red hair color as Smith. Due to the state of the remains, the medical examiner will make an identification through dental X-Rays, fingerprints or DNA, according to the station.
The missing mother had reportedly left her 7-year-old daughter and cell phone at home and left with a male acquaintance. Though the man she went with had dropped her off, Smith’s mother fears that something sinister happened afterward.
Her mother also claimed that the same man has since changed his phone number and even threatened the family. The nature of the alleged threat is not immediately known.
Smith’s cousin said, “I’m just hoping and praying that we get to find her alive well and safe so she can get back home to her daughter.”
[Featured image: WGN-TV, screenshot]
