For more than two decades, the disappearance of John Pisano Jr. lingered as an unanswered question. Now, Cook County officials say a car pulled from a Hodgkins retention pond last September has finally provided the missing piece.
Volunteer divers recovered a 1998 Lincoln Town Car from a pond near the Target at Joliet Road and East Avenue, and authorities have confirmed that the human remains inside are those of Pisano, who vanished in 2001. The identification, announced this week, gives his family long-sought clarity after 25 years. Investigators say the cause of death is still listed as undetermined while they continue to review the circumstances surrounding the vehicle.
Chaos Divers, the volunteer sonar and dive team that found the sedan while searching for a different missing person, said the car turned up during operations in September, according to CBS Chicago. Divers told the station the pond was so murky and shallow that the recovery became a painstaking feel-your-way-along effort, with one team member saying they worked almost entirely by touch…