Special Education Teacher Linda Brown Missing After Allegedly Going Out to Acupuncture

A Chicago teacher vanished, leaving behind her car, a ringing phone, and mounting questions about her final movements.

She left her Bronzeville home on a Saturday morning, planning to attend an acupuncture session she never missed, but 53-year-old Linda Brown never made it. What should have been a peaceful weekend routine spiraled into a disturbing mystery now gripping the city.

A dedicated special education teacher at Robert Healy Elementary School, Linda was last seen on January 3 near the 4500 block of South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. She was supposed to head across town to the 2200 block of West North Avenue in Wicker Park, a trip she'd taken countless times before. This time, she vanished.

A Day That Started like Any Other

Her husband, Antwon Brown, told police the last time he saw Linda was the night before, sometime before midnight. She was in bed, like any normal Friday. When he woke up around 8:30 a.m. to head to a boxing class, he believed Linda had already left.

But that morning, she never arrived. Linda was believed to be driving a blue Honda Civic, license plate CX57470. Police later confirmed that the vehicle had been located and towed by the Chicago Police Department, but have not disclosed its location. According to family members, the car was undamaged.

Pleas from a Desperate Husband

In a series of gut-wrenching interviews, Antwon has pleaded for help. "I'm just shaking, man. I just need my wife home. Seriously. I need my wife home," he said through tears in a video interview.

"She had a phone. She had a purse and credit cards, but we don’t know where she is," he added. "Her phone is still ringing, so if you do see her, please approach her."

In another emotional statement, he shared, "I'm broke down. I don't know what do do. I did everything. I'm talking to people. We got people on it. We got people searching for it. I'm out of options. I don't know what to do but just wait."

He added, "I'm hoping I can get a good call that we found her and she's safe." He then addressed Linda, "If you’re watching this, please come home. Your family is missing you. I'm missing you. Your friends are missing you. Linda, we need you to come home, baby. Seriously. I need you to come home."

Accusations Go Viral

But not everyone believes that his pleas are genuine. A viral TikTok clip dissected Antwon's interviews and pointed out discrepancies in his account. The post attracted thousands of comments.

"He keeps using the word 'had' which is past tense smh," one person wrote. "He was sleeping but he knows what she had on and the items she had? Ok," another noted.

"He didn't see her, but he knew she had cards and what she had on… He knows EXACTLY what happened to her!!!" a third added. "Cause how they know what she was wearing when the husband didn't see her leave in the morning?" another commenter demanded.

"Why's he acting like she ran off. Supposedly she was on the way to a doctor's appointment so I'd be worried she got in an accident somewhere or someone took her. Not that she went on a trip. So yeah there is more to this story," another person questioned.

Still, others leapt to Antwon's defense, calling out the emotional toll and warning against rushing to judgment without evidence.

Spotlight on the Husband

"The way they blamed her husband in the comments on these posts is ridiculous… I said she probably doesn’t want to be found… I hope she’s safe though… But this won’t be the first time this has happened…" one Instagram viewer commented.

"Soo everyone owes the husband an apology," another one declared. "I hope the apology is as loud as the accusations!" another snapped.

Despite the shift, the search for Linda remains urgent. Police noted she may be in need of medical assistance, a chilling detail that has fueled concern even further. Antwon revealed that Linda had taken a leave of absence from her job to focus on her mental health.

"She has a little mental issues going on, and she took a leave of absence from her job to get help for that," he explained. "As school was getting closer, it was kind of getting worse, like the anxiety, the panic attacks."

Linda had been scheduled to return to work the Monday after she disappeared.

Contradictions and Confusion

Even the most basic details of Linda's disappearance have left investigators struggling.

A missing person flyer listed Linda as 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing between 130 to 140 pounds, with a fair complexion. But a separate police alert described her as 5 feet tall, a discrepancy that has added to the growing confusion.

When she left that morning, she was reportedly wearing a long, puffy black coat and shiny UGG-style boots. Antwon said she brought her phone, purse, and credit cards.

But there were no surveillance cameras at the home. The couple also did not track each other's phones, making it impossible to know what time she left or where she went.

Family Refuses to Give Up

Linda's sister, Lisa Quintana, was blunt, saying the way she disappeared was "so not like her." Her brother-in-law, Lorenzo Quintana, added, "We are just trying our best to locate her. We are looking everywhere we possibly can."

The school community has also been shaken. In a letter to parents, Principal Erin Kamradt wrote, "I know that news like this can cause many emotions, questions, and concerns for our school community."

She assured families that the school was working with the CPS Crisis Management Unit and that mental health professionals were available to support students and staff.

Anyone with information about Linda's whereabouts is urged to contact Area One SVU detectives at (312) 747-8380.