A medical examiner ruled that missing teenager Brissa Romero was under the influence of alcohol and THC when she drove her car into an Illinois pond and drowned.
The 17-year-old's body was recovered by search parties on December 12th.
The Lake County Coroner's Office confirmed it received Romero's toxicology report on Jan. 10 and found her alcohol and THC levels were above the legal driving limit.
She had a blood alcohol content of 0.16, twice the legal limit for drivers 21 and older, and her THC level indicated recent use.
Romero went missing on Dec. 4 while on her way to a company holiday party at the Bowlero bowling alley. Her car was recovered by search crews from a retention pond just a mile from where she was last seen alive.
A medical examiner ruled that missing teenager Brissa Romero was under the influence of alcohol and THC when she drove her car into an Illinois pond and drowned
The 17-year-old's body was recovered by search parties on December 12th
The teen's THC level was 7.4 nanograms per milliliter and the limit in Illinois is five nanograms per milliliter.
The coroner's office determined Romero's death to be accidental, with drowning in a retention pond as the official cause and ethanol poisoning as a contributing factor.
Brissa was not in her Nissan Rogue when it was pulled from the water – but investigators believe she was in the vehicle when it went into the lake.
“Based on the condition of the vehicle and all of the evidence we have at this time, it appears that Brissa was in this vehicle when it went into the lake,” said Vernon Hills Police Chief Patrick Kreis.
The car was recovered from the pond at 4pm after a police officer spoke to a witness who spotted a backpack floating on the water.
Police found the backpack and it appeared to belong to Brissa. So they called in additional forces to search the area and eventually found the car.
According to police, the pond is located directly at a T-intersection of Lakeview Parkway and Executive Parkway.
Brissa may have been unfamiliar with the area and drove through the intersection instead of turning right or left, which would have resulted in her driving down an embankment and into the pond.
Surveillance footage from the night Brissa went missing shows the young woman making a pit stop at her workplace to pick up her forgotten iPad before heading back to the party.
The video footage came from a fast food restaurant about a mile and a half from the pond.
The Lake County Coroner's Office confirmed it received Romero's toxicology report on Jan. 10 and found her alcohol and THC levels were above the legal driving limit
Surveillance footage from December 4th – the night Brissa went missing – shows the young woman making a pit stop at her workplace to pick up her forgotten iPad before heading back to the party
Officials said her phone last rang near the party location, but no one at the party saw her.
The dark-haired, brown-eyed Romero, who is 5 feet 7 inches tall, was wearing a green long-sleeved shirt, a black vest, ripped black jeans and black Ugg shoes.
Following her disappearance, police conducted an extensive drone search and checked local ponds for her vehicle, but nothing turned up until last night.
Jocelyn Rubi Romero told the news outlet last week that everyone in the family tells their parents about their whereabouts.
“She called my mom at 6:55 p.m. and said she was on her way here, and my mom kept checking her location and she was on her way here,” Rubi Romero said, “but around that time, When she arrived, she didn't call my mother.'
A vigil was previously held near Town Center Road and Milwaukee Avenue, the last known location where Brissa was seen.
Brissa may have been unfamiliar with the area and drove through the intersection instead of turning right or left, which would have resulted in her driving down an embankment and into the pond
Family and friends had gathered to pray that Romero would be found safely and returned home.
Clutching a large crucifix to her chest, Romero's distraught mother Blanca Aguilera wept as she said, “I want my daughter back as soon as possible. 'I just want my daughter back.'
Romero attended Harper College and trained as an ultrasound technician.
Aguilera said one of the last conversations she and her daughter had was about college and Romero's future plans.
The teenager, described as a “hard worker”, had two jobs before she went missing and was not someone who would run away from home.
“Someone came and took her away, I don’t know what they’re thinking,” the heartbroken mother said at the time. “I just want my daughter back.”