Body Parts Found In Lincoln Park Lagoon ID'd As Elgin Woman

CHICAGO, IL — The human remains found in a pair of duffel bags by a fisherman in a Lincoln Park lagoon were identified Thursday as an Elgin mother whose son has been arrested and charged in her death. The office of the Cook County medical examiner confirmed the human remains found Saturday morning in Chicago, which included parts of two legs and a torso, belonged to 76-year-old Gail Peck.

Her son, Brian Peck, 55, is being held without bail at Cook County Jail following his arrest Tuesday in connection with her death. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of concealing a homicide.

Brian Peck, who lived with his mother in her Littleton Trail home, reported her missing, telling police she left to walk her dog last Friday evening and claiming the dog returned without her.

Elgin police began an intensive search for Peck, using all-terrain vehicles, drone, helicopter and officers on foot. Area residents also assisted in the search for Gail Peck, police said.

As the search went on, police said they received information suggesting that Gail Peck's disappearance did not happen as her son reported. "As additional information was obtained, more investigative resources were devoted to the possibility of the case being criminal in nature," police said. Detectives also executed a search warrant at the Peck home.

Elgin police said they learned that a body was discovered in a lagoon near Lincoln Park on Saturday. Chicago police said a fisherman called 911 at around 11 a.m. after finding a duffel bag filled with what appeared to be human remains in the lagoon. Marine Unit divers then found a second duffel bag with more remains near the 2200 block of North Stockton, Chicago police said.

"Over the course of the next few days, detectives determined that Brian Peck was ultimately responsible for killing his mother and discarding her body, and that the remains found in the Chicago lagoon were that of Gail Peck," Elgin Police Chief Jeffrey Swoboda said in a community alert video on Tuesday. He thanked members of the police department for working tirelessly on the case, as well as members of the community, "who came out and helped us search for Gail, and shared her story on social media, all in the hopes that maybe she was just disoriented, and we could get her home safely.

"It was clear to us from the very beginning, talking to friends and family, that Gail Peck was loved by all that she knew," Swoboda said, extending his condolences to Peck's loved ones.

Main photo: Brian Peck/Photo of Gail Peck. Images via Elgin Police Department