Missing pastor found dead in submerged car after a week

(CHICAGO) — A missing pastor was found dead in his car in the Des Plaines River near Chicago Tuesday night after being missing for a week, according to authorities.

Warren Beard, 53, was last heard from on July 2 and last seen in Joliet, Illinois, according to Chicago police. Beard was an associate pastor at the New Israelite Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago.

Video footage from July 2 shows Beard’s vehicle driving through a gate and under a raised drawbridge before plunging into the river, Rockdale officials said at a news conference Tuesday. The vehicle was located underwater using sonar.

According to authorities, the road where the vehicle was seen was closed.

According to the Will County Coroner’s Office, Beard was found in the Des Plaines River about 450 feet west of Brandon Road in Rockdale.

An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday to determine the final cause and nature of the accident, but the results have not yet been released publicly.

“He was the greatest human being, one of the greatest men I’ve ever met in my life, and this is painful,” Chenier Alston, pastor of the New Israelite Missionary Baptist Church, told Chicago’s ABC station WLS. “We want answers. Words can’t even begin to describe how we feel.”

The Illinois State Police are investigating the incident.

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