Background: The 700 block of North Division Street in Harvard, Illinois, which is the reported location where the couple was discovered (Google Maps). Inset: Brandon Dumovich and Rachel Dumovich (Rachel Dumovich/Facebook).
A married couple was found dead in their vehicle in the middle of traffic days before their first wedding anniversary, Illinois authorities say.
Rachel Dumovich and Brandon Dumovich were driving their car in Harvard, Illinois — until, suddenly, they weren”t. The Harvard Police Department said that on Monday just before midnight, one of its officers saw a parked vehicle on the 700 block of North Division Street with its hazard lights on.
The street runs right through the village, which is located around 75 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, and the officer approached to see what was going on.
The 29-year-old woman in the driver’s seat and the 30-year-old man in the passenger seat were both dead, police said. They each appeared to have “sustained a gunshot wound,” and a “firearm was recovered inside the vehicle.”
At first, roads were closed and residents were advised to shelter in place. However, police later “determined there was no ongoing threat to the community,” and by 7:30 the following morning, the roads were reopened. Police have not publicly stated what they believe happened.
The McHenry County Coroner’s Office later confirmed the identities of the couple, who were from Sharon, Wisconsin, which is about 12 miles northwest of Harvard, over the state border.
An online wedding profile details how the “middle school sweethearts” were married on Oct. 12, 2024.
“I caught Brandon’s attention by stealing cologne from his locker and running away with it,” the profile — ostensibly written by Rachel Dumovich — reads. “After keeping in touch through many life stages and 15 years of friendship, we started dating in 2022.”
Hours before her death, Rachel Dumovich posted a photo of the sky on Facebook, captioned, “Forever chasing sunsets. Wishing we were back in Greece!”
Police stressed on Wednesday that the case was still being investigated. They asked anyone who had any information to contact them.
