The Edward and Stephania Andrews cold case concerns a married couple from Arlington Heights, Illinois, who disappeared on the night of May 15, 1970, after leaving a cocktail party in downtown Chicago, and whose fate has never been determined. More than five decades on, neither the couple nor their black-and-yellow 1969 Oldsmobile 442 has been found, and the case remains open with the Arlington Heights Police Department and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.1Charley Project. Stephania Andrews
Who They Were and the Night They Vanished
Edward P. Andrews, 62, was a semi-retired manager and bookkeeper at Miller-Peerless Manufacturing Co. in Chicago.2Chicago Tribune. Relatives Are Hoping 24-Year Mystery Over Stephania Andrews, also 62, worked as a credit investigator at the Local Loan Co. Acquaintances described both as hardworking and not heavy drinkers.1Charley Project. Stephania Andrews
On the evening of Friday, May 15, 1970, the couple attended a cocktail party hosted by the Women’s Auxiliary of the Beverage Institute at the Sheraton-Chicago Hotel on Michigan Avenue. Witnesses at the party said Edward appeared ill or hungry, and Stephania was crying as they prepared to leave. A parking attendant watched them struggle to get into their car.1Charley Project. Stephania Andrews
At about 9:30 p.m., Edward drove the Oldsmobile out of the hotel garage, striking the garage door on his way out. He then drove north in a southbound lane of Michigan Avenue. That was the last confirmed sighting of either of them.1Charley Project. Stephania Andrews
What Police Found at Their Home
Neither Edward nor Stephania showed up for work the following Monday. Stephania’s brother, John Rynak of South Haven, Michigan, reported them missing.2Chicago Tribune. Relatives Are Hoping 24-Year Mystery Over
A welfare check at the Arlington Heights home turned up nothing out of place. The interior was orderly. Newspapers had piled up on the lawn and mail in the box. The only things gone from the house were the cocktail dress and jewelry Stephania had worn to the party.3Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Stephania Andrews No activity was ever recorded on the couple’s bank accounts, stocks, bonds, or fourteen credit cards after May 15, 1970, pointing away from any planned departure.1Charley Project. Stephania Andrews
The Chicago River Theory
The leading theory from early in the investigation was that Edward, disoriented and driving the wrong way, drove the Oldsmobile off a bridge into the Chicago River. Investigators found skid marks and scrapes on a concrete pillar on a bridge along Lower Wacker Drive, consistent with a vehicle going over the edge near the water.1Charley Project. Stephania Andrews The direction he was traveling would have pointed the car toward the river.4Fox 32 Chicago. Chicago River Search Cold Case Couple Turns Up 91 Vehicles
Repeated river searches never produced the car. In 1980, a river cleanup pulled twelve submerged vehicles from the Chicago River; none was the Andrews’ Oldsmobile.1Charley Project. Stephania Andrews The family rejected the river theory over the years.
The 1994 Foul-Play Tip
In 1994, a 36-year-old man from Bellwood, Illinois, told police he had witnessed the couple being attacked and killed by a group of young men the night they vanished, and that the attackers dumped the bodies and car in a shallow pond near Green Oaks in Lake County, Illinois. He said he had suppressed the memory for more than two decades due to amnesia.2Chicago Tribune. Relatives Are Hoping 24-Year Mystery Over
Arlington Heights Lieutenant Michael Ossler and Lake County police followed the tip. Divers recovered two pieces of metal resembling car parts, and sonar picked up a large object on the bottom of the pond. The search produced no confirmed evidence of the Andrews’ car or remains. Investigators were skeptical of the informant’s account, noting it contained several errors they did not disclose. The couple had no known criminal ties, were not wealthy, and did not gamble, leaving no obvious motive for a targeted attack.2Chicago Tribune. Relatives Are Hoping 24-Year Mystery Over
The 2025 Sonar Search
In August 2025, Chaos Divers, an independent sonar search and recovery team, began scanning the Chicago River for the Andrews’ Oldsmobile. The search started on August 27, 2025, covering the river between Cicero Avenue and Diversey Parkway.4Fox 32 Chicago. Chicago River Search Cold Case Couple Turns Up 91 Vehicles
The team located at least 97 submerged vehicles along the riverbed, some stacked in piles of twelve to nineteen cars in a single spot.5CBS News Chicago. Chaos Divers Locate Submerged Cars Chicago River System By early September, 75 had been checked by license plate and VIN. None matched the Andrews’ car, and no human remains were found in any of them.4Fox 32 Chicago. Chicago River Search Cold Case Couple Turns Up 91 Vehicles The team planned to continue through September 5, 2025, and to extend the effort to the Calumet River.6WGN-TV. Andrews Disappearance Chicago River As of those September reports, neither the Oldsmobile nor any trace of the couple had been found.
Case Status and How to Report Information
Both disappearances remain open and unsolved. The Oldsmobile, a 1969 black-and-yellow sports coupe bearing Illinois license plate BB9986, has never been recovered. Stephania’s case is listed with the Cook County Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit as case number MP20728.3Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Stephania Andrews Anyone with information can contact the Arlington Heights Police Department at 847-368-5300.7Charley Project. Edward P. Andrews