Missing Bronzeville Teacher Died By Suicide, Officials Confirm

BRONZEVILLE — Linda Brown, the missing special education teacher whose body was found Monday in Lake Michigan, died by suicide, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed.

The official cause of death for Brown was listed as drowning. Her body was found Monday morning in the 3100 block of South DuSable Lake Shore Drive, nearly 2 1/2 miles from her home near the 4500 block of South Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.

Brown had been missing since Jan. 3. The Bronzeville woman was last seen in surveillance footage walking toward a pedestrian bridge after leaving her car near 35th Street and Lake Park Avenue.

“This is not the outcome we were hoping or praying for, but we are grateful that she has been found and can now be brought home to our family,” Brown’s family said in a statement to the Tribune.

Brown’s husband previously told CBS2 she was seeking help for mental health challenges that had worsened as winter break neared its end. He said he last saw her Jan. 2, when they watched a movie before bed. Brown was gone by the time he awoke the following morning, he told CBS2.

J.P. Paulus, a fellow 46th Street & Vincennes Block Club and Community Garden member, told Block Club that Brown was a warm, generous person willing to pitch in whenever she was needed. Paulus recalled Brown and her husband helped put up Christmas arches around the neighborhood.

“She’d give candy to the neighborhood kids. She was definitely a person willing to help,” Paulus said.

Healy Elementary Principal Erin Kamradt sent an email to the school community notifying students, staff and parents of Brown’s death, the Tribune reported.

Rene Lopez, a former middle-school student of Brown’s when she taught at another CPS school, told ABC7 she “made us believe in a sense of hope. She just created a sense of community, a safe space within her classroom.”

In a statement shared Monday on social media, Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former CPS teacher, said he was “deeply saddened” by the news of Brown’s death.

“As a special education teacher at Healy Elementary, she made an immeasurable impact on countless young lives and was a vital member of the Bridgeport community,” Johnson said. “I’m praying for her family and for her students as they grieve and remember Linda and all the joy she brought.”

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