Missing Chippewa Falls girl found dead; body located Monday morning
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. - The Chippewa Falls Police Department says 10-year-old Iliana (Lily) Peters – a fourth grader missing since Sunday night – was found dead Monday, April 25. Police consider this a homicide investigation. No one is in custody.
Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm said in a news conference on Monday that a body was found near the Duncan Creek Trail at about 9:15 a.m. The Chippewa County Coroner identified the victim as Peters.
"We encourage anyone with information to please contact the Chippewa Falls Police Department and to maintain a state of vigilance as there may be a danger to the public," Kelm said. "We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Lily Peters during this tragic time."
The Chippewa Falls Police Department has established a tipline for information in this case. They are urging the public to call 1-800-263-5906 if they have information that could help this case.
Officials say they were contacted by Peters' father around 9 p.m. Sunday that his daughter had not returned home from a visit to her aunt's house. Officers learned the 10-year-old was last seen by family members in the evening. She was supposed to be heading home on E. Birch Street in Chippewa Falls. Officers and family checked the area, but the young girl was not located.
A news release says after dark, officers learned a bicycle believed to belong to Peters was located in the woods a short distance from her aunt's residence -- near a walking trail between N. Grove Street and the Leinenkugel's brewery parking lot.
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K-9 teams from the Chippewa County Sheriff's Department and the Lake Hallie Police Department were called in to search the area Sunday night. A drone was also used to search the wooded area.
Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm
If you have information that could help investigators in this matter, you are urged to call 715-723-4424.