119 Children Reported Missing In Illinois: Have You Seen Them?

ILLINOIS — A Chicago child who went missing 60 years ago — and would now be 76 — is among dozens of kidnapped and missing children the FBI is working to bring home as part of National Missing Children’s Day on Thursday.

As of Thursday, there were 119 missing children from Illinois in a long-running database kept by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a national nonprofit started in 1984 by child advocates and the parents of children who had been kidnapped.

Mary Ann Switalski has been missing the longest in Illinois, according to the database. Switalski was last seen on July 15, 1963, in Chicago and has not been seen since. She is one of seven people who are still reported missing and who are now over the age of 60 — including April Zane, who would now be 64 years old and was last seen in Frankfort in 1977.

Among high-profile cases is that of Diamond Bradley, who disappeared at age 3 in 2001 from Chicago along with her sister, Tionda, who was 10. Video of a woman in Texas recently surfaced, with the person appearing on a video posted to social media claiming to be Diamond Bradley, who was just 3 years old when she and her sister went missing from her family’s Bronzeville home.

Family members are awaiting a DNA test to determine if the woman who appeared in the video is actually Diamond Bradley, NBC Chicago recently reported.

Here's a look at some of the children who are currently reported as missing in Illinois. The ages listed represent how old they are or would be as of Thursday, according to the database.

• Gracie Williams, 16: Went missing on May 10 from Naperville
• Tamia Stanford, 18: Went missing on April 24 from Naperville
• Manuel Acacia, 18: Went missing on Sept. 13, 2018, from Libertyville at age 13
• Timmothy Pitzen, 18: Went missing on May 11, 2011, from Aurora at age 6
• Lee Cutler, 33: Went missing on Oct. 20, 2007, from Buffalo Grove at age 18
• Diamond and Tionda Bradley, 25 and 32: Went missing on July 6, 2001, from Bronzeville at age 3 and 10
• Rachel Mellon, 40: Went missing on Jan. 31, 1996, from Bolingbrook at age 24
• Sarah Avon, 48: Went missing on July 21, 1981, from Joliet at age 6
• Deborah McCall, 60: Went missing on Nov. 6, 1981, from Downers Grove at age 18
• Nancy O’Sullivan, 64: Went missing on March 7, 1974, from Homewood at age 15

The FBI, in its announcement of National Missing Children’s Day, also released a separate Kidnappings and Missing Persons list.

“Please take a moment to review the list — and if you recognize anyone or have any information in a case, contact the FBI or local law enforcement or submit a tip online,” the FBI said in the statement. “No detail is too small.”

“We as law enforcement never forget these children and never stop looking for them,” Todd Tumbleson, a criminal investigator for the Nevada Attorney General’s Office and an officer on the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, said in a statement.

Tumbleson has been involved in the investigation of a missing 7-year-old in Las Vegas who disappeared in 1999. These kids and their families “deserve nothing less” than a commitment from law enforcement to never stop trying to bring them home, he said.

“The public often knows something they think is not important but which we in law enforcement find very important,” said Tumbleson, who has been involved in a multi-year investigation into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a 7-year-old in Las Vegas reported missing by her school in 1999 and never returned home.

Sometimes when people hear about the case of a missing child, “it brings back memories of things a suspect said or things the witness saw that might help to locate a child,” Tumbleson said. “Any information the public has should be shared with those investigating the case.”

The FBI said National Missing Children’s Day is also a reminder of the steps parents should take if their child disappears under suspicious circumstances. FBI agents have the authority to immediately begin investigating mysterious disappearances or kidnappings, regardless of jurisdiction.

“Do not wait to report a missing child,” the agency said.

The FBI’s free Child ID app allows parents to quickly share key information with authorities if their child is missing. The app also provides on keeping children safe and guidance on what to do during the first crucial hours after a child disappears.