GUILTY IL - Marilyn 'Mari' Bethell, 47, Aurora, 30 Oct 2005

Aurora Woman Missing Under Suspicious Circumstances

POSTED: October 31, 2005

CHICAGO -- Aurora Police were searching for a missing 47-year-old Aurora woman who apparently disappeared under suspicious circumstances Monday morning.

A vehicle owned by the missing woman, Marilyn Bethell of the 2500 Block of Quail Court in Aurora, was involved in a two vehicle accident at about 7:05 a.m. on the city's far east side.

A subsequent investigation has yet to lead to Bethell's whereabouts and police have recovered evidence from the vehicle and the woman's home that may indicate that foul play is involved.

Upon arrival to the accident scene, which was in the DuPage County section of Aurora, officers found Bethell's 2003 black Honda Accord with heavy front end damage and pushed into the rear of a parked, 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche.

Police learned that the Honda was apparently being driven by a black male southbound on White Barn Road at a high rate of speed, and was being followed by a red or maroon car, possibly a Dodge Intrepid, that was occupied by at least one male of unknown race.

When the driver of the Honda attempted to turn westbound onto Stoney Brook Lane, the vehicle apparently "fish tailed" and the driver lost control, swerved, and struck the Avalanche, a police news release stated.

According to the news release, the driver of the Honda jumped out and was struck by the car that appeared to be chasing him, but then got up out of the roadway and jumped into the red/maroon vehicle. That car then continued westbound from the area at a high rate of speed.

Witnesses said that the men in both vehicles apparently had handguns in their possession.

Bethell is described as a white female, 5 feet 3 inches tall, 150 pounds, with red hair and brown eyes.

Photo at link:

http://www.nbc5.com/news/5216641/detail.html?z=dp&dpswid=2265994&dppid=65193

Google earth of her neighborhood http://www.missingabducted.com/wp-content/aurorail_01.jpg , and how close her car was found.

Police seek missing Aurora woman

November 2, 2005
BY DAN ROZEK

Aurora police used search dogs Tuesday to hunt for a missing 47-year-old woman in woods near her home but found no signs of Marilyn Bethell, who vanished Sunday after leaving work.

In a baffling twist to her disappearance, however, police said Bethell's car was heavily damaged in a high-speed crash early Monday less than a mile from her house. But she wasn't driving her 2003 Honda Accord when it smashed into a parked vehicle, police said.

A man carrying a handgun jumped out of Bethell's wrecked car after the 7:05 a.m. Monday crash and hopped into a following vehicle, also driven by a man wielding a pistol, witnesses told police.

The crash prompted police to check Bethell's home on nearby Quail Court, where they found signs of a break-in, although investigators wouldn't disclose details.

The strange chain of circumstances -- along with unspecified evidence found in Bethell's car -- has police fearing for her safety.

"We think there's probably foul play at this point, but it's way too early to point fingers," said Aurora Police Chief William Powell.

Bethell, who is divorced and lives alone, was last seen about 3:30 p.m. Sunday as she left her job at a substance-abuse treatment center in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates, Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said. There were no indications that she had been threatened or harassed by patients at the facility, he said.

Bethell earlier this year had earned an associate's degree in addictions counseling at the College of DuPage, a school spokesman said.

A Rockford man Bethell has been dating has been cooperative with police and isn't considered a suspect, officials said.

Despite signs of a break-in at Bethell's house, it hadn't been ransacked and Bethell's two pets, a cocker spaniel and a cockatiel, were found unharmed.

Bethell is 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 150 pounds, has red hair and brown eyes, investigators said.

Anyone with information can call police at (630) 801-6655 or Crime Stoppers at (630) 892-1000.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-aurora02.html

Aurora Woman Last Seen Sunday

AURORA, Ill. -- Aurora police and officers from several other police agencies began a search of a forest preserve Thursday for a missing woman.Marilyn Bethell, 47, was last seen at her job in Hoffman Estates Sunday afternoon.

According to a news release, around 100 police officers organized into 14 teams to search a 1 square mile area bound by Route 56 on the north, Eola Road on the east, and the Illinois Prairie Path on the west.


The area the officers are searching is adjacent to Bethell's home in the DuPage County Section of Aurora, police said.

Bethell was not involved in the crash, but police later determined that she was missing, and recovered evidence from the vehicle and her home that may indicate that foul play was involved, NBC5 reported.

More: http://www.nbc5.com/news/5241511/detail.html?rss=chi&psp=news


"We're basically searching for any evidence that may help us put pieces of the puzzle together. It's not that received a tip or anything like that, but we wanted to make sure we searched this area," said Aurora Police Department spokesman Dan Ferrelli.

Marilyn Bethell of the 2500 block of Quail Court was not in her car when two armed men were involved in the crash, and as of press time, Aurora police believe the certified drug and alcohol counselor might have met with foul play.

When officers came to Bethell's house on the far north side of Aurora to tell her that her car had been involved in an accident, they found signs to indicate she might have been a victim of a crime.

Police began their investigation Monday morning, when officers were called to the scene of an unusual accident that witnesses initially reported as a chase on White Barn Road in the DuPage County portion of Aurora.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/top/2_1_AU01_MISSING_S1.htm

Cops expand search for missing Aurora woman

Police fanned out to search a square-mile wooded area in east Aurora Thursday, hoping to find clues to the disappearance of a woman missing since Monday.

But after about 100 officers worked for about five hours, searching through heavy brush and trees in an area called the Big Woods near the woman's home, police found no clues related to missing substance abuse counselor Marilyn Bethell, 47.

Officers from area agencies formed 14 teams to conduct the search. Police also used an Illinois State Police plane to search the area bounded by Illinois Highway 56 on the north, Eola Road on the east, the Illinois Prairie Path on the west, and Bilter Road on the south.

The search was not prompted by tips or new information, said police spokesman Dan Ferrelli, but police wanted to be thorough.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-051103aurora,1,4616149.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed

In the stillness of a nearly vacant building at the College of DuPage, 23 women clasped hands Friday evening and prayed for the safe return of an Aurora woman whose mysterious disappearance three weeks ago continues to vex Aurora police.

Marilyn Bethell, 47, recently graduated from the school and began working as a state-licensed substance abuse counselor. She was last seen Oct. 30 at the SHARE program in Hoffman Estates, where she was a counselor.

Bethell's disappearance was particularly troubling because her car was involved in a traffic accident just blocks from her home on Oct. 31.

Witnesses told police they saw an armed man get out of her 2003 Honda Accord after he drove it into a parked car. The man was hit by a red or maroon car, possibly a Dodge Intrepid, that had been following the Accord south on White Barn Road at a high rate of speed. The armed man then got into that car and it sped away. Police said evidence found in Bethell's Accord and in her Quail Court home leads them to believe she met with foul play, but they won't discuss specifics.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0511190132nov19,1,81371.story?coll=chi-newslocal-hed

Marilyn Bethell Disappeared Last Month

Posted: Nov 22, 2005

(CBS) AURORA Police are offering cash for clues into the disappearance of an Aurora woman.

Marilyn Bethell vanished Halloween weekend. Police were tipped off to her disappearance after her Honda Accord was involved in an accident.

Police tracked the license and responded to her home, where they found evidence of foul play.

Police are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of two men. One was seen driving her car shortly before the accident.

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_326135721.html


http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_326135721.html

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/top/2_1_AU04_BETHELL_S2.htm

AURORA — Marilyn Bethell is only one of dozens of adults who are annually reported missing in Aurora.

Some are getting out of bad relationships and don't want to be followed.

Others have issues with substance abuse and try to make a clean break.

A few just need to get away.

But the vast majority, according to police, simply return home.

Very few missing-person cases ever raise suspicions for police the way the bizarre disappearance of 47-year-old Marilyn Bethell has.

Group offers $5,000 reward for info on Aurora woman

December 23, 2005

AURORA, Ill. A five-thousand dollar reward is being offered for information that helps police locate an Aurora woman who went missing on Halloween.

The Carol-Sund/Carrington Foundation offered the reward after speaking with Marilyn Bethell's family and local police. The California-based group was founded by relatives of three women who were killed in 1999 while hiking at Yosemite National Park.

Police are also offering a one-thousand dollar reward for useful information.

Bethell vanished after leaving work on October 31st. Authorities have said foul play is suspected.

Police say Bethell wasn't behind the wheel of her car when it smashed into a parked vehicle the weekend she was last seen.

Witnesses told police they saw a man with a gun get out of Bethell's wrecked car and hop into another car with a second armed man.

http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=4281563&nav=1sW7

"Someone Invaded"

News article with stories from Marilyn's friends----

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/top/2_1_AU04_BETHELL_S1.htm

I wonder if the red car that was following her car, was chasing it- or if both men were escaping from what ever happened at Barthell's home? Instead of a chase, maybe they were running and when the crash happened, guy in Bartell's car gets into the car following him.
Although, evidently someone saw guns so maybe it was a chase.
Confusing.

mysteriew said:

I wonder if the red car that was following her car, was chasing it- or if both men were escaping from what ever happened at Barthell's home? Instead of a chase, maybe they were running and when the crash happened, guy in Bartell's car gets into the car following him.
Although, evidently someone saw guns so maybe it was a chase.
Confusing.

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Yes, mysteriew..this is so puzzling, just unbelievable. Where is this poor woman??

petra said:

mysteriew said:

I wonder if the red car that was following her car, was chasing it- or if both men were escaping from what ever happened at Barthell's home? Instead of a chase, maybe they were running and when the crash happened, guy in Bartell's car gets into the car following him.
Although, evidently someone saw guns so maybe it was a chase.
Confusing.

Click to expand...

Yes, mysteriew..this is so puzzling, just unbelievable. Where is this poor woman??

Click to expand...

Going on that train of thought, maybe if foul play did happen, then she was in the maroon car tied up, in the trunk?

Angels_Not_Forgotten said:

Going on that train of thought, maybe if foul play did happen, then she was in the maroon car tied up, in the trunk?

Click to expand...

Good idea. She would have had to be taken from the home. They were likely going to park her car somewhere it wouldn't be found for a few days to throw off LE and were taking her somewhere. It makes sense.

It seems as though you wouldnt want to draw attention to yourself by having a high speed chase for lack of better words. Something happened to cause him to freak out. Since both had guns, did the man driving her car get into the other car friendly like or could it be someone pointed their gun at him, maybe he went to steal her car or valuables and saw someone attacking her? i dont know....just a strange senerio.

Dec 26, 2005

Human remains have been found in the western suburbs not far from where an Aurora woman disappeared earlier this year.

The body was found Monday evening near Farnsworth and Butterfield Road in unincorporated Kane County north of Aurora.

CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports the body is badly decomposed.

The gruesome discovery was made around 6 p.m. by a man, who was walking his dog along a bike path through the woods in unincorporated Kane County about half a mile behind a subdivision.

But according to Kane County Sheriff Ken Ramsey, the body was so decomposed, authorities could not tell if it was a male or female.

Continued at link:

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_360232420.html

Body found near missing woman's home

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_360232420.html

"(CBS) AURORA Human remains have been found in the western suburbs not far from where an Aurora woman disappeared earlier this year.
. . .

"The body is in pretty poor condition, it's obviously been in the area for a month, two months, possibly three," Ramsey said. "A significant portion is skeletal, there are still some remains of the flesh there are other identifying factors we are looking at that will help us determine the identity."

"Bethell lived less than a mile from where the body was discovered,

Body found could be missing Aurora woman

Police this afternoon continued to gather evidence before moving a body that could be that of an Aurora woman missing since October, WGN-Ch. 9 reported.

A hiker discovered the decomposed body about 5 p.m. Monday along the Illinois Prairie Path between Savannah Drive and Kirk Road in rural Kane County, said Dan Ferrelli, spokesman for the Aurora police, which initially responded to the call.

The body was found about three miles from the Aurora home of Marilyn Bethell, 47, who was last seen leaving her job assisting counselors at a Hoffman Estates substance-abuse center on Oct. 30, WGN reported.

More: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-051227aurora,1,89571.story

Our news (CLTV) just reported that, because of personal effects found with the body, "police believe that it IS, in fact, the body of Marilyn Bethell."

This poor woman. You're not even safe in your own home anymore. It's scary.