A 19-year-old woman from Crestwood, Illinois, was found in the Cal Sag Channel on Tuesday afternoon, April 14, 2026, and later died despite rescue efforts. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the victim as Tabarak Al Najjar.
The incident began around 4:30 p.m. when a citizen called to report seeing a woman leaning over a bridge near 131st Street and Pulaski Road in Alsip. While responding to the scene, first responders learned that a body had been spotted floating west in the Cal Sag Channel.
The Alsip Fire Department initiated a water rescue box alarm and launched a Palos Fire Protection District rescue boat from the Alsip boat launch . Firefighters located the young woman in the channel, pulled her aboard the boat, and immediately began CPR. She was transported to shore near the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District building at 132nd Street and Pulaski Road, where she was transferred to an Alsip fire ambulance.
Tabarak Al Najjar was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition. Despite emergency efforts, she was pronounced dead at 5:35 p.m. Alsip Fire Chief Tom Styczynski confirmed that no one else was believed to be in the water. The area along the Cal Sag Channel near 131st Street and Pulaski Road was secured while investigators examined the scene and gathered information.
The Cal Sag Channel runs through southwest suburban Cook County and is bordered by industrial and residential areas in Alsip. The loss of such a young person has deeply affected her family, friends, and the Crestwood and Alsip communities.
Alsip authorities and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office are investigating the circumstances surrounding Tabarak Al Najjar’s death. No foul play has been indicated at this time, and the case remains under review as officials determine the exact cause and manner of death. Detectives continue to seek any witnesses or surveillance footage from the area around the channel in Alsip.
The Alsip and Crestwood communities have been left saddened by the discovery. Residents near 131st Street expressed shock over the tragedy in a waterway that borders local neighborhoods and parks. Family and friends have begun sharing tributes as the southwest suburbs process the loss of the 19-year-old on April 14, 2026.