The Evanston Police and Fire Departments responded to the scene at Garden Park in the 500 block of Sheridan Square around 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon after a caller noticed a body in the lake floating near the rocks close to the shore.
First responders then recovered the body and transported the deceased to the medical examiner’s office, according to EPD Commander Ryan Glew.
At this time, police officials have not released the identity of the deceased, and Glew said an autopsy was scheduled for Friday, March 18, although he did not have the results of the examination yet.
EPD also could not comment on whether the body was 31-year-old Evanston resident Elise Malary, the prominent local transgender-rights and anti-racism activist who has been missing since March 9. Earlier this week, police found Malary’s car in a municipal parking lot two blocks from her apartment, the RoundTable previously reported.
Garden Park is also just north of South Boulevard Beach and the Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Evanston. Malary’s apartment on Hinman Avenue is located just half a mile west of the park.