Missing Nigerian Doctor Found Dead in Lake Michigan, Few Weeks to His Graduation - Body Pulled From Lake Michigan

A body pulled from Lake Michigan over the weekend has been identified as Ambrose Monye, a medical student who went missing in Chicago just weeks before his graduation.

The 28-year-old student at a university in Guadalajara, Mexico, had mysteriously disappeared in Chicago in April and family and friends were frantically searching the city for clues on what might have happened. 

His body was found Sunday in the water near the 5400 block of South Lake Shore Drive. The cause of manner of death are pending, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. 

His brother, Joseph, who is also a medical student, said last month when he checked Monye’s apartment, he found nothing unusual. Chicago Police Department spokeswoman Officer, Nicole Trainor, said: “He has been identified and now it’s a death investigation.”

Monye's younger brother Joseph last heard from him on April 21, and said nothing was amiss. Monye was last seen walking towards the University of Chicago's John Crerar Medical Library, planning to study. The fourth-year medical student was about to complete his rotations at Jackson Park Hospital. 

Trainor said it’s unclear if foul play was involved, or even when Monye’s body entered the lake and that if any sort of foul play is discovered, the death investigation would become a homicide investigation. Family members say Monye’s disappearance was strange because he was preparing to graduate in a few weeks.

Joseph said: “He’s just four weeks from his goal. His tickets to graduation are already bought for the ceremony. He ordered his cap and gown and everything.” One of his acquaintances told Joseph that on April 22, the day he went missing, he saw him and greeted him but he didn’t respond.

"We don't have any hints, clues or anything. It's like he disappeared into thin air," said Joseph Monye. "Nobody knows were he went to or anything like that."
Joseph Monye said there were fresh groceries in the refrigerator at Monye's Hyde Park apartment, where the air conditioning and a reading lamp were both left on. 


There has been no activity from his cell phone, credit card, or email since Monye disappeared. He wears reading glasses and carries a green backpack, his brother said. 
"I'm literally scared out of my mind. I have no idea what to do," his brother said, adding, "This is the best time of his life right now. He should be celebrating and we are looking for him."