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Vigil, balloon release held for Rosa Chacon, woman found dead in alley this week

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Balloons floated skyward Saturday to honor a Little Village woman found dead this week.

The body of Rosa Chacon, 21, was found tied up and dumped in a shopping cart in an alley off West 24th Place and Western Avenue on Wednesday morning.

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 Rosa Chacon Family Photo

Relatives, friends, and neighbors gathered Saturday afternoon for a vigil for Chacon – on what would have been her 22nd birthday.

Her family claims Chicago Police did little to help find her.

As of Saturday, Chicago Police detectives were only describing her case as a "death investigation."

Chacon's family believes she was murdered – and they are hoping a $15,000 reward will help solve the case.

Community members also want answers about the death of a second woman – a 20-year-old woman from Guatemala identified as Reina Cristina Ical Seb. She was shot in the head and was found in an alley off 24th Street and Drake Avenue – about a mile and a half west of where Chacon's body was found.

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Legal Help Firm

Chicago Police have said the two cases are not connected. But Chacon's family and those in the community argue differently.

"It's within a mile and a half, and I think that they're two females - both found both in alleys," community activist Raul Montes said Friday.

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