No sign of foul play in woman's death, coroner says
Lake County Coroner officials said an autopsy revealed no signs of foul play to a North Barrington woman found dead on the side of a busy road near Wauconda.
Coroner Artis Yancey said Friday that officials are awaiting toxicology results before making a final determination on Maria Carlsen's death.
Carlsen's body was found near Wauconda on the north side of Route 12, about one mile southeast of Route 59, Lake County sheriff's police said.
Two bottles of prescription medication and a bottle of water were found with the body, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said during a news conference Thursday. Police said her death may have been accidental or a suicide.
The discovery of Carlsen's body came after a two-day search in the Wauconda area, including at the Lakewood Forest Preserve.
Carlsen, 61, was reported missing to police on Tuesday, and relatives had told police there was a chance she could have harmed herself, Curran said Thursday.
Sheriff's Lt. Christopher Thompson said Carlsen was reported missing hours after she was to board a plane for Boca Raton, Fla., to see her husband on Valentine's Day.
Carlsen's bags were packed for the trip, but a limousine driver who arrived at the home to take her to O'Hare International Airport said she was not there, police said.
Carlsen's BMW missing from the home, police said, and was discovered the next day in the parking lot outside J&D's Bar and Grill at Route 12 and Old Rand Road.
The bar is more than 3 miles from Carlsen's home. It is a mile from where her body was found on Route 12.
Curran said the investigation is still active and will remain open pending the outcome of the autopsy. Yancey said it would be two to four weeks before toxicology results would be returned.