Woman Disappeared After Going For A Run On The Lakefront Path In February

By Emma G. Gallegos in News on Apr 4, 2016 4:44PM

Jessica Suarez (CBS Chicago)

Family are encouraging police to step up their efforts to find a 21-year-old woman who was last seen on surveillance video going for a jog on the lakefront path that runs along Lake Shore Drive on Feb. 5.

Jessica Suarez drove her light blue 2000 Honda Civic at 6 a.m. for a jog near the lake, and the next day her abandoned car was found parked along the lakefront on the North Side at 5100 N. Simmons Dr., according to ABC 7. Police found her belongings and phone, which they tried to call, but to no avail, according to Univision. Suarez is described as a 5'5", 160-pound Hispanic woman with black hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion. She was last seen wearing a knit hat, white scarf and brown coat.

WGN reports that Suarez is a physical therapy major at Harold Washington College and a graduate of Lane Tech. Police turned over video that shows Suarez running on the day in question, but her family is hoping to find more footage that helps crack the case.

Over the weekend, family and friends returned to the scene to conduct a search, post signs with her photo and attempt to raise awareness of his disappearance. The family says that, had it happened to a wealthier white woman, the case would be getting more attention.

"If we were rich and also had friends with some political influence and she were white, the media and the police would give us more attention," her sister Adelina Suarez told a crowd in Spanish.

The family says investigators have implied that Suarez may have fallen into the lake on a windy day, but there was never any water search, according to CBS Chicago.

"I want my sister Jessica to be back, and Jessica, if you are watching, this because I know Jessica you are alive," Suarez said. "I know people have different stories that maybe she fell in the water. I can feel it in my heart that she's not in the water. I know she's alive."

Chicago Police told CBS they're still investigating leads and consider it an active case.

Nancy Grace has tweeted out her story: