Portia Adams, a 43 year old Black/African American woman, was reported missing on December 5, 2016, after her white Cadillac CTX was found abandoned in the 6200 block of Industrial Avenue in Washington Park, Illinois.
Local police asked the Illinois State Police to assist, and notices described that she had last been seen leaving the John De Shields housing complex in East St. Louis around 3:30 a.m.
that Monday.
The day her car was found marked the start of a search that drew family, friends, and officers into fields and along roadways on the Metro East's cold early-winter days.
Two days later, on December 7, a body was discovered in a weedy area off the 4800 block of Forest Boulevard in Washington Park. Authorities identified the remains as those of Portia Adams.
An autopsy determined she had been killed by a gunshot wound, turning a missing-person alert into a homicide investigation that shook a community already accustomed to grief.
Reports at the time noted that it was a search party that came across the remains, a grim end to the effort that began with the abandoned Cadillac.
Investigators labeled the case an open homicide and appealed for tips, emphasizing the timeline that began on December 5 and ended with the discovery on December 7.
In the years since, no public records indicate that arrests were made or suspects named in connection with the killing of Portia Adams.
Memorial listings continue to mark her death in Washington Park on that date, while regional Crime Stoppers materials still seek information from anyone who knows what happened along Industrial Avenue and Forest Boulevard.
