Firefighters conducting a training exercise in a Naperville lake located the vehicle of a suburban man who disappeared more than two decades ago, authorities said Friday.
At approximately 11 a.m. on Thursday, divers participating in a training exercise in Lake Osborne, just south of the Naperville Police Department on Aurora Avenue, located a submerged vehicle, police said in a news release.
Officers, detectives and crime scene technicians responded to the scene, and by late afternoon had removed the vehicle, which was determined to be a 1992 Nissan Maxima. By researching the vehicle’s license plate number, officers determined the car was connected to the disappearance of Hiep Luu, a Berwyn man who was reported missing in 2003.
Luu, who was 21 years old at the time, left the house he shared with his parents on Dec. 15, 2003, headed for his job at an electronics manufacturer in Woodridge, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Luu was driving a 1992 Nissan Maxima, which matches the description of the vehicle recovered.
NBC Chicago’s Sky 5 helicopter captured footage of the scene showing fire department crews using a variety of equipment as the surrounding area was blocked off with crime scene tape.
What were believed to be human remains were discovered inside the vehicle, but had yet to be identified by the DuPage County Coroner’s Office as of Friday afternoon.
Divers with the Naperville Police Department returned to the lake on Friday, where they were searching for additional evidence, authorities said. Anyone with information regarding the death investigation should call Naperville police, while tips regarding the missing person’s case can be submitted to the Berwyn Police Department.
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