Schaumburg Pond Mystery As Cops Race To Check 'Body' Report

What started as a Friday afternoon near a Schaumburg retention pond quickly turned tense after someone spotted something floating in the water and feared it might be a human body.

Police and emergency crews converged on the pond near East Algonquin Road and Parkside Drive, stringing yellow tape and blocking off the area as they tried to determine what was in the water. Traffic slowed in the immediate area while officers secured the scene and worked along the shoreline. By midafternoon, authorities had not yet confirmed exactly what the object was.

Police confirm response; investigators probing

Deputy Chief Joseph Dugan said officers were called to the pond after a report of a floating object possibly a human body and that they were still working to determine what it was around 4 p.m. Video shared on social media showed several officers at the edge of the pond, with the response partially blocking the intersection and the southbound lane on Parkside Drive from Algonquin Road, according to NBC Chicago.

Why retention ponds can be dangerous

Retention and stormwater ponds may look calm, but they are built to collect runoff, not for swimming or play, and they have been linked to accidental drownings and other hazards, especially for young children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that drowning is a leading cause of injury death among children, and a recent analysis of fatal drownings found 265 retention-pond deaths in the United States between 2004 and 2020, underscoring the risks of murky, unmanaged water, according to a study published at PubMed Central.

What authorities say now

Village officials had not released any additional information at the time of the initial reports. Investigators remained at the scene into the late afternoon as they continued working to identify what was floating in the pond, according to NBC Chicago.