The cause of death has been determined for a missing Chicago special education teacher whose body was recovered from Lake Michigan earlier this week, authorities confirmed, as reported by The New York Post.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death of Linda Brown a suicide by drowning following an autopsy conducted Tuesday, according to a report from FOX 32.
Brown was 53 years old. No additional details regarding the autopsy findings were released.
The cause of death for Chicago teacher Linda Brown (53) has been released.
The medical examiner ruled her death a suicide by drowning. The toxicology results are still pending.
Such a tragedy.
May she rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/bTvWtlh46R
— Rose (@901Lulu) January 14, 2026
Brown’s body was recovered from Lake Michigan near the South Side of Chicago around noon Monday, according to the Chicago Police Department. She had been reported missing on Jan. 3 after disappearing without explanation.
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According to her husband, Antwon Brown, the couple spent a quiet evening together at home watching movies before Linda went to bed early. When he woke up the next morning, she was gone.
“I woke up at 8:45 a.m., and she was gone,” Antwon told local media, adding that he “broke down.”
After several hours passed with no contact from his wife, Antwon reported her missing to police.
Brown worked as a special education teacher at Robert Healy Elementary School and was employed by Chicago Public Schools.
Police said she was last seen driving a blue 2021 Honda Civic in the 4500 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in the Bronzeville neighborhood, roughly two miles southwest of the Chicago White Sox’s Rate Field.
Investigators said Brown was believed to be on her way to her weekly acupuncture appointment but never arrived.
On Jan. 7, police located Brown’s vehicle abandoned near East 35th Street and South Lake Park Avenue, approximately two miles from the location where she was last seen.
Surveillance footage later recovered by investigators showed Brown in the same general area where her car was found.
Family members told ABC 7 that surveillance video captured Brown around 3 a.m. on the day she was reported missing. The footage showed her walking alone on a pedestrian bridge leading toward the lakefront.
While the circumstances surrounding Brown’s decision remain unclear, her husband said she had recently been struggling with mental health challenges.
Antwon told CBS Chicago that his wife had taken a leave of absence from her job to seek help and was scheduled to return to work on Jan. 5.
Autopsy: Missing CPS teacher drowned in apparent suicidehttps://t.co/5I4EdihH30
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) January 14, 2026
“She has a little mental issues going on, and she took a leave of absence from her job to get help for that,” he said last week.
“As school was getting closer, it was kind of getting worse, like the anxiety, the panic attacks,” Antwon added.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released further details related to the case, and Chicago police said no additional information is available at this time.
Brown’s death brings an end to days of uncertainty for her family and colleagues, following an intensive search and investigation after her disappearance earlier this month.
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