Chicago, Illinois – The Cook County Sheriff’s Office is renewing public outreach in the long-unsolved disappearance of Sylvia McElroy, last seen in Chicago in 1987.
According to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, McElroy was 27 years old when she was last seen on November 10, 1987, in the area of East 63rd Street and South King Drive on the city’s South Side. Investigators say she was accompanied by a friend and an unidentified adult male when they entered a brown, four-door Buick believed to be from the late 1970s. She was never seen again.
McElroy is described as a Black woman with brown eyes and black hair, standing between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing between 125 and 135 pounds at the time she disappeared. If alive today, she would be 66 years old.
The case is now part of the Sheriff’s Office Missing Persons Project, a dedicated effort focused on cases that have remained unresolved for extended periods. Officials say even small details—memories, conversations, or observations that may have seemed insignificant decades ago—could help investigators establish new leads.
Authorities emphasized that advances in investigative techniques and renewed case reviews can make older information newly relevant. Tips may come from former neighbors, commuters, or anyone who lived or worked near the 63rd Street corridor during the late 1980s.
Anyone with information about McElroy’s disappearance is urged to contact the Cook County Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit at 773-674-9490 or by email. Information can be shared regardless of how much time has passed.
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