Stephania Andrews and her husband, Edward, resided in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and were looking forward to their retirement. On the evening of Friday, May 15, 1970, the couple, both 62 years old, attended a cocktail party at the Sheraton-Chicago hotel on North Michigan Avenue. Reports from that evening suggest Edward had been feeling ill earlier in the day and appeared unwell at the party. Around 9:30 p.m., they left the event to retrieve their car from the hotel's parking garage.
The garage manager later recounted a concerning scene, stating that Edward was staggering and that as he drove their 1969 yellow and black Oldsmobile coupe out of the garage, he struck a door. The manager also noted that Stephania was visibly upset and crying in the passenger seat. The last known sighting of the couple was of their vehicle heading the wrong way on Lower Michigan Avenue, driving north in the southbound lanes.
Concern for the couple's welfare arose the following Monday when neither Stephania, a credit investigator, nor Edward, a manager for a manufacturing company, reported for work. This was highly uncharacteristic of the responsible and hardworking couple. Police were dispatched to their Arlington Heights home to perform a wellness check. Upon arrival, they found newspapers accumulated on the lawn and mail piling up in the mailbox. A neighbor provided a key to the residence, where officers found everything inside to be perfectly orderly. There were no signs of a struggle or foul play, and it did not appear that they had packed for a trip. The only items that seemed to be missing were the cocktail dress and jewelry Stephania had worn to the party on Friday night.
The prevailing theory held by investigators was that a tragic accident occurred moments after the couple left the hotel. It is believed that Edward, possibly disoriented or unwell, may have accidentally driven their car into the Chicago River while attempting to correct his course after driving the wrong way. Police identified a spot on a bridge on Lower Wacker Drive with scraped concrete and skid marks, suggesting where the vehicle might have gone into the water. Despite multiple extensive searches of the river and nearby Lake Michigan using divers, sonar, and dragging equipment in the months and years that followed, the Andrews' Oldsmobile was never found. Over the years, other theories emerged, including tips about foul play, but searches based on these leads also proved fruitless. The complete and sudden disappearance of Stephania and Edward Andrews, along with their vehicle, from a busy area of downtown Chicago left behind an enduring mystery, with no activity on their bank accounts or credit cards ever recorded again.Last Seen: May 15, 1970
