CHICAGO — Family and friends of Elise Malary, 31, sought answers on the Evanston activist’s whereabouts when she stopped responding to them on March 9.
Two days later, Malary was reported missing, according to Evanston police. On Saturday afternoon, authorities confirmed Malary’s body had been positively identified after Evanston Police and Fire departments responded to Garden Park on the Lake Michigan shoreline in the 500 block of Sheridan Square Thursday evening after a woman was sighted in the water.
According to an Evanston Police statement, the Evanston Fire Department recovered 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,” Alexis Martinez, Malary’s friend, said after Malary was reported missing.
Malary was known for her social advocacy for the LGBTQ population, people of color and transgender people of color. Through her position as a board member with the nonprofit Chicago Therapy Collective, 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 made appeals for Malary’s return, according to the Chicago Therapy Collective statement. Vasquez and Malary met on the alderman’s campaign, he said.
“You meet a lot of activists, and they put in 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 “faced some personal loss in recent months” and “also occasionally expressed concerns about her safety,” according to a statement by the Collective released Wednesday. She had quit her job with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raul on March 9, police said.
The doors of her residence were discovered unlocked, and her car was found locked Tuesday afternoon, in a city lot near where she disappeared, police said. Police are continuing the investigation, but no signs of foul play have been found, officials 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, like 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 has a leader and advocate for the trans community,” Vasquez wrote. “Her smile and energy light up every room she is in.”
In its statement, the Chicago Therapy Collective also called 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 want the same attention to go to all of those groups,” said Iggy Ladden, founder of the Chicago Therapy Collective who noted a sense of pride in how Chicago pulled together on Malary’s behalf.
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