CHICAGO — Family and friends of Elise Malary, 31, sought answers about the Evanston activist’s whereabouts when she stopped responding to them on March 9.
Two days later, Malary was reported missing, according to the Evanston Police Department. On Saturday afternoon, authorities confirmed that Malary’s body had been positively identified after the Evanston Police and Fire Department responded Thursday night at Garden Park on the Lake Michigan shoreline in the 500 block of Sheridan Square after a woman was sighted in the water.
According to a statement from the Evanston Police Department, the Evanston Fire Department rescued Malary from the water and transported her to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Malary was the person who was “always there for you,” said Alexis Martinez, a friend of Malary’s, after Malary was reported missing.
Malary was known for her social advocacy for the LGBTQ, people of color and transgender people of color. Through her role as a board member at the Chicago Therapy Collective, a nonprofit, she had a “profound influence,” Martinez said.
Born and raised in Chicago, Malary previously lived in Andersonville. Activists and several elected officials, including Chicago Alderman Andre Vasquez, 40th, and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, have appealed for Malary’s return, according to the Chicago Therapy Collective statement. Vasquez and Malary met during the councilor’s campaign, he said.
“You meet a lot of activists, and they’ve done a lot of work, but they don’t have the same level of joy and love that Elise brings,” Vasquez said before the discovery of Malary’s remains.
Malary “has experienced personal loss in recent months” and “has also expressed occasional safety concerns,” according to a Collective statement released Wednesday. She had quit her job with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raul on March 9.
The doors to her home were discovered unlocked and her car was found locked on a city lot near where she disappeared Tuesday afternoon, police said. Police are continuing the investigation, but no signs of malicious intent have been found, authorities said.
Friends described Malary as sweet, loving and even shy upon first meeting. More than one friend described her as ‘fierce’.
“She makes me feel so seen and heard, just by being together, without even having to say a word,” said Nat Vikitsreth, who met her through social justice work.
“Elise has been a good friend of mine and someone who is a leader and advocate for the trans community,” Vasquez wrote. “Her smile and energy light up any room she’s in.”
In its statement, the Chicago Therapy Collective also drew attention to other cases of missing black women, Indigenous women and trans women of color “whose cases are too often left to languish.”
Malary “would like the same focus on all those groups,” said Iggy Ladden, founder of the Chicago Therapy Collective, who noted a sense of pride in how Chicago collaborated on Malary’s behalf.
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