Body found in Lake Michigan IDed as missing college student

Correction: We were informed that Daniel Sotelo was reported missing the same day as Natally Brookson, April 30, not the previous day as was originally reported. In the interest of transparency, we're leaving the original report up so readers can see the change.

CHICAGO (AP) — A body found along Chicago's Lake Michigan shoreline in early May has been identified as that of a college student who vanished last month around the time her boyfriend also went missing.

The body recovered May 2 by the Chicago Fire Department was identified as that of Natally Brookson, 22, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and Chicago police, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.^[1]

The cause and manner of the Edgewater woman's death remains pending, the medical examiner’s office said.

Brookson was pursuing a psychology degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago while working as a dietary aide at Friedman Place, a supportive living community center for adults who are blind, according to a GoFundMe page created to help cover funeral expenses.

She was reported missing April 30 and was last seen leaving work, officials said.

The previous day, her boyfriend, 26-year-old Daniel Sotelo, was also reported missing.

Sotelo and Brookson both attended the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Sotelo’s sister, Jennifer Sotelo, said he went missing days before he was set to graduate with a master’s degree in organic chemistry, and he didn't show up at last week's graduation ceremony.

“I would just tell him, please come home, you’ve got a lot of family members, friends, cousins who are worried about you and we just want to hear from you," she told WFLD-TV.^[2]

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