In the late summer of 2011, a 31-year-old man named Antonio Guerrero vanished. He was last seen on September 19, 2011, in Racine, Wisconsin, where he was staying at a rehabilitation facility on Racine Street. After that day, all communication from Antonio to his family in Berwyn, Illinois, abruptly stopped. Deeply concerned, his family reported him missing, telling authorities they believed he might still be in the Racine area.
As weeks turned into months with no word, a painful period of uncertainty began for his loved ones.
Nearly two months after Antonio's disappearance, a grim discovery was made. On November 12, 2011, skeletal remains were found caught in the shoreline rocks along Lake Michigan, just east of the 5th Street boat launch in Racine. Three weeks later, more remains, identified as a forearm and hand, were located about a mile south near Carre-Hogle Park. The condition of the remains made immediate identification impossible, launching a difficult and lengthy investigation. The remains were sent to the Waukesha County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy and an independent anthropologist studied them for nine months, concluding they belonged to a male in his early 20s to middle 30s. Investigators looked into local missing person cases, and while Antonio’s case was considered, an initial comparison of dental records was inconclusive.
For years, Antonio’s family lived without answers. The breakthrough in the case finally came through the advancement of DNA technology. In the fall of 2015, investigators collected DNA samples from Antonio's mother and siblings. These samples were sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification for comparison with DNA from the discovered remains. The results confirmed with a high degree of probability that the remains were those of Antonio Guerrero. After five long years of waiting, his family finally had an answer, allowing them to make funeral arrangements. The manner of his death is classified as undetermined, and because only partial remains were recovered, his case remains open. The Racine Police Department continues to seek any information regarding the investigation.Last Seen: Sep 19, 2011
