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‘It’s just devastating,’ says sister of missing Schaumburg woman found dead in trunk of her car on Chicago’s West Side

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Before her body was found in the trunk of her Lexus sedan on Chicago’s West Side late Monday, Sureel Dabawala, 34, had gone to work out at a gym not far from the Schaumburg home she shared with her parents.

She never came home and wasn’t seen alive again by loved ones, her sister said Tuesday morning.

Sureel Dabawala, 34, was found dead in the trunk of her car on Chicago's West Side on Jan. 13, 2020, authorities said.
Sureel Dabawala, 34, was found dead in the trunk of her car on Chicago’s West Side on Jan. 13, 2020, authorities said.

Dabawala’s sister said Dabawala wasn’t just outgoing and bubbly but also a highly educated woman who worked for her parents’ medical practice.

“This is someone who had her MBA from Loyola (University Chicago). I feel like it’s important for people to know that something like this could happen to anybody, not just people living in a dangerous neighborhood or anything like that,” said her sister, who asked not to be named for safety reasons. “It could happen to anyone’s sister, mom, kid. She was a very smart girl, a very lively person. It’s just devastating.”

Dabawala had been listed as an endangered missing person after failing to return to her family home Dec. 30, according to an alert issued by the Schaumburg Police Department. She was considered endangered because of “a medical condition,” according to the alert.

Around 8:30 p.m. Monday, Chicago police officers were called to the 200 block of North Kilpatrick Avenue in West Garfield Park after private investigators hired by the missing woman’s family located her white 2011 Lexus sedan parked there, according to Chicago police spokeswoman Kellie Bartoli.

The private investigators phoned Dabawala’s father, who had hired them, as well as Chicago police, police sources said. Dabawala’s father arrived with the keys to the car and opened the trunk, where his daughter was found wrapped in a blanket and later pronounced dead.

The medical examiner’s office released Dabawala’s identification Tuesday morning. Although results from an autopsy had been expected later in the day, it could not be completed Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the office said.

Dabawala’s sister said her family was going to the medical examiner’s office to make their own identification Tuesday and that they would spend the day making arrangements for her sister’s services.

“She was a very bubbly person and a very good-spirited person. Just … she didn’t have a single enemy in her life type of person,” Dabawala’s sister said.

Dabawala’s sister said her family was not yet sure what happened to her sister, and they were awaiting updates from police and information from the autopsy before speculating about Dabawala’s final moments.

“One of the worst parts of this is knowing that the car sat there as long as it did and knowing we could’ve possibly found her sooner. There’s a lot of what-ifs,” her sister said.

In an email, Bartoli said it wasn’t clear how long the Lexus had been parked at the location, and she could not say whether it had collected parking violation citations. A public city database doesn’t indicate any parking tickets for the car since Dec. 30.

“There’s no information about the car or how long it may have been there. It was towed for further processing,” Bartoli said.

Her sister described Dabawala as someone who enjoyed shopping and socializing. She loved to dine out with her friends and especially enjoyed Asian cuisine. She was also an animal lover, and she had a dog who was “near and dear to her heart,” her sister said.

Dabawala often spent time with friends and family in the city and in nearby suburbs, which is why the Schaumburg alert noted it was possible Dabawala might be in Chicago or nearby, her sister said.

“I don’t know who those friends are, but everyone’s going to be questioned,” Dabawala’s sister said. “We just know very little right now.”

Her family filed a missing person report with Schaumburg on Jan. 1.

Bartoli could not release details about whether Dabawala had visible injuries but said until the autopsy is completed, the case was being treated as a death investigation rather than a homicide.

Chicago police were expected to review surveillance cameras in the immediate area.

Authorities from Schaumburg did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Her sister said she was talking about Dabawala’s death because she wants people to know something this tragic could happen to anyone, at any time. Her family has been shocked by the news that the “extremely outgoing” woman they love so much is gone so suddenly.

“You couldn’t not like her after meeting her, that’s how friendly and outgoing she was. She’s just a very likable person,” her sister said. “I do think it’s very important for the public to know, because we’re totally shocked.”

Chicago Tribune’s Rosemary Sobol contributed.

kdouglas@chicagotribune.com

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