IL IL - Laura Ann Johnson, 24, Palatine, 5 May 1990

[Gardener1850]

Laura Ann Johnson Case Classification: Endangered Missing Missing Since: May 5, 1990 Location Last Seen: Palatine, Cook County, Illinois Physical Description ** Listed information is from the time of disappearance. Date of Birth: July 21, 1965 Age at Time of Disappearance: 24 years old Race: Caucasian Gender: Female Height at Time of Disappearance: 4'6 1/2 Weight at Time of Disappearance: 120 pounds Hair Color: Blonde Eye Color: Brown Alias(s) / Nickname(s): Unknown Distinguishing Marks/Features: She has four tattoos: a sunburst with a bird on her upper right arm; a red rose on the left side of her abdomen; a rose on her outer left ankle; and a scroll with a ladybug on her inner left breast. Johnson also has a 4 - 5 inch-long scar on her left forearm. Pierced ears. Dentals: Available Fingerprints: Not available DNA: Available Clothing & Personal Items Clothing: Pink sweater, blue jean skirt, pink high heels. Jewelry: Unknown Additional Personal Items: Unknown Circumstances of Disappearance Johnson was last seen leaving a bar in Palatine, IL called the Hob Nob on May 5, 1990. She was accompanied by an unidentified White male witnesses said she had met that evening. He spoke with a southern accent and claimed to be a truck driver from Memphis, Tennessee. The man had dark hair and a mustache. He was in his early to mid-20s and was 5'10" tall. Around 04.00, Johnson left the lounge with the truck driver. A witness told police he saw them walk to the rear of the lot and out of his view. He never saw them get into a vehicle. No clues indicate that Johnson ran away to start a new life. She has two children. Investigating Agency(s) If you have any information about this case please contact; Agency Name: Arlington Heights Police Department Agency Contact Person: Detective Nathan Hayes Agency Phone Number: 847-368-5350 E-Mail OR Agency Name: Central Illinois Resource Support Center Agency Phone Number: 888-375-9611 Agency Case Number: 90-11166 NCIC Case Number: M425323219 NamUs MP: 2664 Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/128dfil.html

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/2664/

 

[ctaylor]

A new article on Laura's case...

What happened to Laura? Arlington Heights woman's 1990 disappearance remains a mystery

Thirty years after Laura Johnson walked out of a Northwest suburban bar never to be seen again, her daughters harbor few illusions about a miraculous reunion with their long-lost mother.

But they still hope one day to know what happened to their mom in the early morning hours of May 5, 1990. And they hope to see justice done to anyone responsible for ripping her from their lives.

...

 

[kimmo]

Laura Ann Johnson – The Charley Project​

Details of Disappearance​

Laura's husband, David Johnson, dropped her off at the Billy Club bar on north Vail Avenue in Arlington, Illinois at approximately 10:30 p.m. on May 4, 1990. (The establishment is now called Harry's of Arlington). The couple were regulars at the club.

David returned to their residence in the 20 block of south Highland Avenue in Arlington Heights to care for their two children. Laura left the Billy Club at closing time and eventually visited the Hob Nob lounge near Northwest Highway and Palatine Road in Palatine, Illinois during the evening. She was accompanied by a group of unidentified friends at the time.

Witnesses said that Laura spoke with an unidentified Caucasian male with brown hair and a mustache. Witnesses told authorities that the man spoke with a southern accent and claimed to be a truck driver from Memphis, Tennessee. He was approximately 5'8 to 5'10 tall and appeared to be in his mid-to-late twenties. He had dark hair and a mustache.

Laura was last seen at approximately 4:00 a.m. on May 5. She and the man were walking to the rear of the club's parking lot at the time of her disappearance. Laura never returned home and has not been heard from again. She was carrying some money at the time of her disappearance, but she left her purse at home.

David did not report his wife as a missing person for two days; he stated he thought she was with friends. He told authorities that Laura occasionally stayed out late, but said it was uncharacteristic of her to leave without warning, and he didn't think she would have abandoned their two daughters. The older child was a toddler in 1990 and the other was an infant.

The Johnsons had had marital problems in the past, and after her older daughter was born Laura briefly left David and moved back in with her parents, but they reconciled.

Investigators said that there was no evidence suggesting David was involved in her case, but he has never been eliminated as a possible suspect. Authorities said that he appeared nonchalant when reporting Laura's disappearance and never maintained contact with investigators.

David relinquished custody of their children to Laura's mother in Wisconsin three months after her disappearance. He eventually moved to Savannah, Georgia, but he did not maintain contact with Laura's family or his daughters and his current whereabouts are unknown.

David refused to take a polygraph exam, but he has never been charged in connection with his wife's case. Investigators had been summoned to the couple's home as the result of two domestic disturbances prior to May 1990. Authorities said that the incidents did not indicate signs of marital discord.

Laura is described as an extrovert who was close with her children. She and David previously lived in Arizona before relocating to Illinois in 1988. Authorities stated Laura was devoted mother who changed her lifestyle for the better
after the birth of her children, and there is no evidence that she was involved with another man.

Laura's case remains unsolved and she is presumed deceased.

 

[Caring1]

Bump for Laura

11 Unidentified Person Exclusions

 

[victoriarobinson642]

HS photo

 

[summergirl1]

This is a good article on her disappearence- What Happened to Laura Johnson?

 

[summergirl1]

From the 2011 article I just posted.
"I feel this case can be solved," said Det. Joe Pinnello.

Johnson was last seen on a Friday night in May 1990. She and her husband, David, went for dinner at the Arlington Race Track has Johnson's brother watched the girls at home. Later, David Johnson dropped his wife off at a neighborhood tavern called The Billy Club and he made the two block drive back home at about 10:30 p.m.

Police say there's no doubt Laura Johnson left the bar between 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. A regular, the bartender knew Laura Johnson and said he saw her leave with two men and a woman he'd never seen before.

She hasn't been seen since.

About a week later, two men came forward saying they recognized her missing person's picture and had talked with her later that same night at a club about three miles away, in Palatine. They said she left at 4 a.m. with a man who said he was a trucker from Tennessee.

Police now wonder if what the witnesses, total strangers, were mistaken.

"Why would my mom leave at four in the morning with a truck driver and not go home to her two children who were sleeping? It just doesn't make sense to me," said Ashley Johnson.

Sgt. Tom Seleski worked the case back in 1990 after the lead investigator retired and talked with David Johnson several times.

Seleski said Johnson was a "person of interest" then and remains one now.

Police say Johnson waited more than 24 hours to report his wife missing, telling them he wasn't worried because she had stayed out overnight in the past. A month prior to the disappearance, police had responded to a domestic argument between them but found no sign of violence and filed no charges.

Laura Johnson's family said the woman's husband was a jealous man, a statement that raises even more questions for their daughter.

"Why would you let your wife, who you don't want to be talking to anyone but you and maybe her girlfriends, go out to a bar by herself?" she asked.

Although they have no way of knowing, Laura Johnson's family thinks she walked home from the bar and never went to the nightclub. Laura's brother, who was babysitting that night, said he never saw or heard anything, though police say he was asleep at the time David Johnson said he got home.

The brother told police he didn't see David Johnson until he woke up at 11 a.m., roughly nine hours after Laura Johnson left The Billy Club.

The girls' grandmother ultimately raised Ashley and her sister. David Johnson moved away and NBC Chicago's repeated attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.''

I find it very interesting the often repeated story about her leaving with the truck driver came from people who didn't know her who may have been mistaken. It would be far from the only reported sighting of someone (usually after they are missing) that is inaccurate. However, there is solid evidence from a bartender who did know her that she was seen leaving the one bar with two men and a woman he had never seen before. Why would she have left with these people? I presume the bartender never saw them again? They never came forward, whoever they were. Why? It would be interesting to know if she had a habit of making new friends in bars or not.

Yeah, the truck driver sounds like a plausible suspect, and certainly truck drivers not from places where they know their victims are definitely part of some true crime stories. This maybe another one..but I would believe the witness account of someone who knew her over people who didn't, who are more likely to be wrong. The two men and the woman she is known to have left the one bar with are interesting to me. There doesn't seem to have been a strong effort to find and identify them, whether as just potential witnesses or suspects. Her family does say they believe in the article she did make it home that night and they are inclined to suspect her husband at the time. But I'm not so sure she ever made it home or that the supposed truck driver was responsible for her disappearance either.

It is true there are some red flags about her ex- husband, but it could be the way she is said to have disappeared leaving with a strange man or strange men (although a woman was with them) from a bar was the last straw for him as they already had marital problems and so he moved on with his life even choosing not see his daughters. I wouldn't say he sounds all that great, but it is truly possible she never made it home and it had nothing to do with the truck driver. Her husband at the time has/had (if now deceased) a common name so I'm sure that has contributed to him being untraceable after he moved away..

 

[spartanx]

From the 2011 article I just posted.
"I feel this case can be solved," said Det. Joe Pinnello.

Johnson was last seen on a Friday night in May 1990. She and her husband, David, went for dinner at the Arlington Race Track has Johnson's brother watched the girls at home. Later, David Johnson dropped his wife off at a neighborhood tavern called The Billy Club and he made the two block drive back home at about 10:30 p.m.

Police say there's no doubt Laura Johnson left the bar between 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. A regular, the bartender knew Laura Johnson and said he saw her leave with two men and a woman he'd never seen before.

She hasn't been seen since.

About a week later, two men came forward saying they recognized her missing person's picture and had talked with her later that same night at a club about three miles away, in Palatine. They said she left at 4 a.m. with a man who said he was a trucker from Tennessee.

Police now wonder if what the witnesses, total strangers, were mistaken.

"Why would my mom leave at four in the morning with a truck driver and not go home to her two children who were sleeping? It just doesn't make sense to me," said Ashley Johnson.

Sgt. Tom Seleski worked the case back in 1990 after the lead investigator retired and talked with David Johnson several times.

Seleski said Johnson was a "person of interest" then and remains one now.

Police say Johnson waited more than 24 hours to report his wife missing, telling them he wasn't worried because she had stayed out overnight in the past. A month prior to the disappearance, police had responded to a domestic argument between them but found no sign of violence and filed no charges.

Laura Johnson's family said the woman's husband was a jealous man, a statement that raises even more questions for their daughter.

"Why would you let your wife, who you don't want to be talking to anyone but you and maybe her girlfriends, go out to a bar by herself?" she asked.

Although they have no way of knowing, Laura Johnson's family thinks she walked home from the bar and never went to the nightclub. Laura's brother, who was babysitting that night, said he never saw or heard anything, though police say he was asleep at the time David Johnson said he got home.

The brother told police he didn't see David Johnson until he woke up at 11 a.m., roughly nine hours after Laura Johnson left The Billy Club.

The girls' grandmother ultimately raised Ashley and her sister. David Johnson moved away and NBC Chicago's repeated attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.''

I find it very interesting the often repeated story about her leaving with the truck driver came from people who didn't know her who may have been mistaken. It would be far from the only reported sighting of someone (usually after they are missing) that is inaccurate. However, there is solid evidence from a bartender who did know her that she was seen leaving the one bar with two men and a woman he had never seen before. Why would she have left with these people? I presume the bartender never saw them again? They never came forward, whoever they were. Why? It would be interesting to know if she had a habit of making new friends in bars or not.

Yeah, the truck driver sounds like a plausible suspect, and certainly truck drivers not from places where they know their victims are definitely part of some true crime stories. This maybe another one..but I would believe the witness account of someone who knew her over people who didn't, who are more likely to be wrong. The two men and the woman she is known to have left the one bar with are interesting to me. There doesn't seem to have been a strong effort to find and identify them, whether as just potential witnesses or suspects. Her family does say they believe in the article she did make it home that night and they are inclined to suspect her husband at the time. But I'm not so sure she ever made it home or that the supposed truck driver was responsible for her disappearance either.

It is true there are some red flags about her ex- husband, but it could be the way she is said to have disappeared leaving with a strange man or strange men (although a woman was with them) from a bar was the last straw for him as they already had marital problems and so he moved on with his life even choosing not see his daughters. I wouldn't say he sounds all that great, but it is truly possible she never made it home and it had nothing to do with the truck driver. Her husband at the time has/had (if now deceased) a common name so I'm sure that has contributed to him being untraceable after he moved away..

excellent article, friend... but I think that the husband, as always in these cases, had something to do with her disappearance... he didn't kill her directly, but maybe he paid or extorted someone to do it...
It shows that she was a housewife without vices who perhaps could no longer live with her jealous and perhaps violent husband...
anyway rest in peace

 

[SHSASUsleuth23]

excellent article, friend... but I think that the husband, as always in these cases, had something to do with her disappearance... he didn't kill her directly, but maybe he paid or extorted someone to do it...
It shows that she was a housewife without vices who perhaps could no longer live with her jealous and perhaps violent husband...
anyway rest in peace

I think David Johnson knows a lot more than he's ever told. And apparently, he abandoned his daughters? This is a real flimsy alibi in my opinion. He had plenty of time to get rid of her. I found my way here because I thought Laura Johnson could be Collinsville Jane Doe, but she was ruled out.

 

[Caring1]

Laura has one new exclusion. Total is now 12.

Bump for Laura

11 Unidentified Person Exclusions

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