An autopsy was done Friday on the body believed to be that of a Naperville woman missing since the end of July but no preliminary cause of death or official verification of her identity has been released.
Law enforcement officials are proceeding under the assumption that the woman is Olasinmibo “Sinmi” Abosede, 46, last seen about 9:20 a.m. July 30 as she walked away from her home in the 2100 block of Sudbury Street.
Complete autopsy results will not be available for six to eight weeks because of the time needed for toxicology tests, according to the DuPage County coroner’s office, which did not indicate when identification confirmation might be known.
The body was found Thursday afternoon near a trailhead at the southwest corner of the Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve at 83rd Street and Chandelle Drive, according to a joint news release from Naperville Police Department and the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.
Clothing the woman was wearing — a long-sleeve black Adidas jacket with white stripes along the arms, gray sweatpants, a black headscarf and black Crocs — have led police to say they believe the victim is Abosede.
No foul play is suspected, according to the release.
Authorities had been looking for Abosede for two weeks, conducting a large-scale search of Springbrook Prairie on Aug. 4 in the hope of locating her. They ultimately they did not cover the area of dense prairie grass where the remains were found about 1:55 p.m. Thursday, Naperville police Cmdr. Rick Krakow said.
“It’s an incredibly big, large area,” Krakow said of the 1,829-acre preserve.
It was an area where Abosede would frequently walk. That fact and guidance from canines trained to do searches are what led authorities to look there, he said.
“When we do not know where someone went, we’ll use a canine and then we will essentially follow their lead and then focus our attention on areas that the canine was essentially telling us, ‘Hey, (there) may be a higher probability in this area so you may want to concentrate here,’” Krakow said.
Naperville police Chief Jason Arres said officials are convinced the body discovered belongs to Abosede but would await official verification.
“While we believe the individual to be Sinmi, the final confirmation will be made by the DuPage County coroner’s office,” Arres said in the release. “We are deeply saddened by this loss and extend our sincere condolences to the Abosede family during this difficult time.”
The forest preserve district police are leading the death investigation in collaboration with Naperville police. District officials declined to comment on the case Friday.
Abosede was a parishioner at St. Raphael Catholic Church in Naperville. She was a mother of four children and had been married to Gbenga Abosede for 18 years, her husband said at a news conference last week.
“We are deeply saddened, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends during this difficult time,” the Rev. Christopher Lankford, pastor of St. Raphael, said in a statement on social media. “As a parish, we remain committed to lifting Sinmi and her loved ones in prayer in the days ahead.”
Abosede’s family declined to comment for this story.
