Updated 6/19 4:18pm
Let us be in prayer for the family.
The body Chicago Police recovered early Wednesday from Lake Michigan is that of a University of Chicago student who went missing a week ago, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed.
South Shore artist and fisherman Eddie Hudson found the body at about 6:30 a.m. while casting out his line into the lake at Oakwood Drive.
Austin Hudson-LaPore, 20, a third-year student at the U of C, was last seen around 8:30 p.m. on June 12 at his apartment on the 5300 block of South Kimbark Avenue. His bod was recovered near the 3900 block of South Lake Shore Drive.
“I looked to my right and I saw what appeared to be a log,” recalled Hudson. “Me and my wife, we’ve been following it on the news, and I didn’t think it was him because there was so much stuff going on. It could have been anyone.”
LaPore’s family expressed gratitude to those who searched for the young man. A Thursday press conference was planned where they hoped to say more.
Those who knew LaPore said he was a happy student who didn’t suffer from any emotional problems and had a fascination with the weather. Storms rolled into Chicago the night Hudson-LaPore went missing, and his father said he might have gone outside to check out the storms without taking his wallet or cell phone.
NBC TV
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Updated 6/19 10:24am
By Adam Sege, John Kim and Ellen Hirst
Police officers recovered a body from Lake Michigan on the South Side this morning, and a family spokesman said they believe it is a 20-year-old University of Chicago student from Albuquerque missing since last week.
“The father thinks it’s him,” said Andrew Holmes, a spokesman for the family of Austin Hudson-Lapore who disappeared near the lakefront last Wednesday. “The fisherman (who spotted the body) said this white Caucasian male resembles this young man.”
Police received a call just before 6:30 a.m. today about a body in the water east of the 3900 block of South Lake Shore Drive, Police News Affairs Officer Jose Estrada said.
Among those at the scene was Hudson-Lapore’s father, Gregg LaPore. Standing with Holmes, who has been active in the search for Hudson-Lapore, LaPore told reporters he was not prepared to speak but the family may make a statement later today.
In a phone interview later, Holmes said LaPore was gathering family members to tell them the search may be over.
Holmes said the body was taken to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, and the family was waiting for a call to come and identify the body.
Austin Hudson-Lapore has not been seen since leaving his apartment between 8:30 and 10 p.m. Wednesday, his father said at a press conference last week.
Hudson-Lapore left home with only his keys, and family members thought his curiosity about weather might have prompted him to watch the approaching storms that night.
Gregg LaPore said his son might have taken either 53rd or 55th streets to the lakefront.
The body was discovered by Eddie Hudson, who had gone to the lake to fish.
“I walked out and cast one time, looked to my right and I saw a body, which I thought was a log,” he said. “And I walked a little bit closer, then I thought it was a dummy. . .I discovered it wasn’t a dummy and then I called 911 and they sent the Fire Department, police out.
“I just told them, ‘I think it’s a dummy but I’m not sure, would you send someone out here to investigate?’ They sent ’em down and they were pretty prompt. They came down maybe 10 minutes after I had called.”
Asked how he felt about discovering the body, he said, “I feel pretty good. But it’s a hell of a way to start your morning.”
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Austin Hudson-Lapore is from Albuquerque. We are asking you, our friends, to pray that Austin be found safe. Please join us in prayer.
He was last seen in the 5300 block of South Kimbark Avenue, police said in a report.
LaPore said his son could have taken East 53rd or East 55th streets from his apartment where he was last seen to the lake.
“This is our best guess,” his father said outside the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel on the 5800 block of South Woodlawn Avenue in Hyde Park. “We are appealing to the community that if anybody saw anything unusual around those routes, that they contact (police).”
A missing person report describes Hudson-Lapore as white, 5-foot-7 and about 120 pounds with blond hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, black gym shoes and an unknown top.
LaPore said Hudson-Lapore had just finished his last final exam Wednesday afternoon. The family, which has Chicago ties but now lives in New Mexico, recalled recently talking with Hudson-Lapore on Skype for up to three hours at a time, where he seemed happy and laughed with them.
His mother and father said there was no reason to suspect he was distraught or upset.
“He’s a smart, happy and outgoing young man who was fully engaged in his community,” LaPore said. “… And we’d like your help in getting him back.”
Hudson-Lapore’s family set up a website – FindAustinHudson.com – with pictures and more details about their loved one in hopes that it will aid in finding him.
Friends at the press conference cried and hugged one another as the family described Hudson-Lapore’s character and his plans to start work at a laboratory on campus so he could spend his last summer of college near his friends.
Those friends declined to speak to the media.
A family friend, Melanie Greenberg, 48, of Naperville, said she is still in shock.
“It’s just so surreal,” Greenberg said. “My mind can’t process it at all.”
Another young person was recently reported missing on the South Side.
Naomi Knight, 18, is a special needs student diagnosed with bi-polar disorder who was last seen about 7:15 a.m. Monday on the 6100 block of South Woodlawn Avenue, according to a missing person report. She might be in the area of 46th and Drexel Avenue or 52nd and Dorchester Avenue, police said.
The report describes Knight as black, 5-foot-4 and 136 pounds with black hair worn in a pony tail, brown eyes and a light brown complexion. She was last seen wearing a pink-and-white striped top, blue jeans and light brown Timberland boots.
Anyone with information on either missing person is asked to call Area Central detectives at 312-747-8380.