UPTOWN — Lane Campbell, a fixture of Chicago’s live music scene who went missing in February, was found dead Friday, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
Campbell’s body was found around 1 p.m. in a Cook County Forest Preserve near 163rd Street and Central Avenue in Oak Forest, officials said in a news release. There were no indications of foul play but investigators are awaiting an autopsy to confirm the cause of Campbell’s death, according to the sheriff’s office, which took over the investigation from Oak Forest authorities.
The discovery ends a two-week search to find Campbell, 50, an Uptown resident and beloved figure in local music circles.
Campbell was last seen in person Feb. 19 at his girlfriend’s home in Oak Forest, authorities and his loved ones said. He then appeared to travel back to his home in the 900 block of West Belle Plaine Avenue that same day.
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Eventually, authorities determined Campbell had made it back to Oak Forest and was seen on surveillance camera at a local gas station, said his friend Jerome Hughes. Chicago police issued a missing person notice for Campbell on Feb. 22.
His disappearance set off a search that had national reach, given Campbell’s status in some music fandom circles, Hughes said.
“Everyone is just shell shocked,” Hughes said Friday evening, speaking on behalf of some family and friends. “I am very disappointed, but I knew coming in there was this chance. I just wanted to do right by my friend.”
Campbell was an attorney with the Northwestern University research department and frequented local music venues, including The Hideout.
Hughes met Campbell through a fan group of the defunct downstate Illinois band Uncle Tupelo. The two became closer friends after attending shows together at The Hideout and other venues throughout the city.
Because Campbell is so well-liked in fan groups, the search for his whereabouts went well beyond the Chicago area, Hughes said.
“He’s a connector,” Hughes said of Campbell. “If somebody had just come to Chicago, he would help them out. He just has an open soul.”
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