Just hours before she was found floating dead in the Des Plaines River on the morning of May 5, Shirley Martin had visited one of her favorite places in Riverside. For about two hours the previous night she used a computer, as she so often did, in the lower level of the library, which over looks the river.
Between 8:15 and 8:30 p.m. on May 4, according to director Janice Fisher, the library got a call from one of Martin’s family members. They were concerned about her welfare after receiving a letter from Martin earlier that day. The letter was with a note and a key to Martin’s east Burlington Street apartment.
When they arrived at Martin’s apartment, family members were confronted with another letter, which contained her will and burial wishes. All of Martin’s belongings were boxed up.
In the note, the 61-year-old Martin asked that no one look for her.
About five minutes after library staff got the call from the relative, Martin walked upstairs toward the circulation desk. According to Fisher, library employee Sharon Shroyer spoke to Martin.
“The head of circulation told her, ‘We had a call from one of your relatives; they’re looking for you.'”
According to Fisher, Martin seemed surprised by the news, but nothing appeared to be unusual about her manner. After receiving the news, Martin walked out the front door of the library.
Although library staff reportedly suggested to Martin that she go next door to the Riverside Police Department to check in, she never did.
On Thursday afternoon, the Cook County Medical Examiner stated the cause of Martin’s death was drowning by suicide, said Riverside Deputy Police Chief John Krull. The medical examiner on May 5 had confirmed that Martin’s body had been pulled from the river.
Police had received a call from Martin’s relatives earlier on May 4, at about 7 p.m., according to Krull, and officers canvassed the area to no avail, he said.
“She was a wonderful patron,” said Fisher, who added that Martin would sometimes come in to use the computers or ask reference questions. “She was in almost daily. We have people that spend hours here, because it’s a pleasant location to be.”
On May 5 at about 9 a.m., Fisher received a visit from a Riverside police officer and two of Martin’s relatives who were gathering information. Then came the commotion on the river.
At 9:17 a.m., someone walking along the bank of the river called 911 reporting a body caught on the Fairbank dam, sometimes called the little dam, about 225 yards northeast of the Barrypoint Road bridge.
Riverside firefighters found Martin’s body rolling in the “boil” of the dam about 25 feet from the Riverside shore. Riverside firefighters launched their boat from Swan Pond while Lyons firefighters launched a boat farther downstream.
Before the Riverside boat could reach the dam, Martin’s body broke free of the dam and floated past the boat downstream. Fisher looked out the window of the library to see what was going on outside and saw Martin’s body float past the place where she had spent so many hours.
Lyons firefighters were able to recover Martin’s body near Gage Road, according to Riverside’s assistant fire chief, John Buckley. The Cook County Medical Examiner on May 5 confirmed Martin as the person pulled from the river.