Found Deceased IL - Edward Gardner, 21, in rental car, driving to Griffith, IN, Bolingbrook, 13 Mar 2022 *car found*

[GuyfromCanada]

The family of Edward Gardner, 22, of Oswego is asking for the public's help in locating their son, who has been missing since Sunday night, March 13.

Gardner is 6 feet tall, 150 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. He was last seen driving a Hertz rental car - a 2022 White Dodge Charger with Florida license plate QMND02.

He was seen in the Bolingbrook area on Sunday and may have been heading to Griffith, Indiana. There has been no activity on his cell phone since Sunday night.

If anyone has any information about Gardner's whereabouts, the family would be extremely grateful if you would contact the Oswego Police Department at 630-551-7300.

Missing Illinois Man, 22, May Have Been Heading to Indiana on Sun

The distance is about 50 miles.

Google Maps

 

[CSGen]

When this happens in a rural area, I tend to think that the person’s car might have gone off the road into a body of water, but it seems unlikely that something like that could have happened here without someone seeing it.

 

[Darling136]

Adding Oswego PD
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[ChatteringBirds]

I just saw his case in NamUs. I hope he's located safe very soon.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

 

[GMS]

I just saw his case in NamUs. I hope he's located safe very soon.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

I noticed in the NamUS report, it says according to friends he went to 64th and Cottage Road in Chicago Sunday night. I couldn't find that location in Bolingbrook, but there is a 64th and S. Cottage Ave. in the West Woodlawn area of Chicago. If indeed that's the correct location, depending on travel, it's about 40 miles NE of Bolingbrook and 24 miles to Griffith, IN.

I also wonder when the rental car was due back...was this a couple day rental to make this specific trip, or perhaps his normal vehicle was being serviced/ repaired.

 

[Unsolved]

I couldn't find that location in Bolingbrook, but there is a 64th and S. Cottage Ave. in the West Woodlawn area of Chicago. If indeed that's the correct location, depending on travel, it's about 40 miles NE of Bolingbrook and 24 miles to Griffith, IN.

This article mentions Woodlawn, so I'm thinking you're correct:

"Family members last saw him in Bolingbrook on March 12, and an acquaintance of Gardner's reported seeing him in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood on the evening of March 13, police said."

Missing Illinois Man, 22, May Have Been Heading to Indiana on Sun

Re the rental car - AFAIK that model (Dodge Charger) is very popular with thieves. Just look at this 2021 article about auto thefts in Detroit:

"Back in 2019, a study by the Highway Loss Data Institute concluded that America's most theft-prone car was the Dodge Charger, one variant of which was over five times likelier to be yoinked than the national average. This rear-drive sedan's popularity with the sticky-fingered seems not to have waned, as authorities in a county neighboring Detroit have shared stats suggesting the Charger's theft rate is still astronomical, averaging close to three stolen daily in their region.

The Saline Police Department told The Saline News it had records of over 1,000 Charger thefts within the last year across southeast Michigan."

Over a Thousand Dodge Chargers Have Been Stolen Around Detroit in the Last Year

I sure hope someone didn't carjack him/hurt him for the car...

 

[GraceG]

This article mentions Woodlawn, so I'm thinking you're correct:

"Family members last saw him in Bolingbrook on March 12, and an acquaintance of Gardner's reported seeing him in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood on the evening of March 13, police said."

Missing Illinois Man, 22, May Have Been Heading to Indiana on Sun

Re the rental car - AFAIK that model (Dodge Charger) is very popular with thieves. Just look at this 2021 article about auto thefts in Detroit:

"Back in 2019, a study by the Highway Loss Data Institute concluded that America's most theft-prone car was the Dodge Charger, one variant of which was over five times likelier to be yoinked than the national average. This rear-drive sedan's popularity with the sticky-fingered seems not to have waned, as authorities in a county neighboring Detroit have shared stats suggesting the Charger's theft rate is still astronomical, averaging close to three stolen daily in their region.

The Saline Police Department told The Saline News it had records of over 1,000 Charger thefts within the last year across southeast Michigan."

Over a Thousand Dodge Chargers Have Been Stolen Around Detroit in the Last Year

I sure hope someone didn't carjack him/hurt him for the car...

<modsnip> this is exactly what was on my mind. I live in Chicago and when I commuted from Indiana to home for 3 years I always drove my old beater truck instead of our new sporty car on the routes through the southern parts of the city. Hearing he was in Woodlawn is concerning. Gang activity is fairly high there.

 

[GraceG]

Updated information on the Chicago Police site. They list his age as 21, not 22 (he turns 22 in May) and he is listed by LE as having two alias's RYAN, ANDERSON or MASON SCHERTZ. https://home.chicagopolice.org/missing-edward-gardner-21/

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Oswego police say missing man's vehicle found

Oswego police say they have found the rental vehicle associated with 22-year-old Edward Gardner, who was last seen in Chicago on March 13.

Police say the vehicle was involved in a multi-vehicle crash in Hammond, Indiana on March 29. Police learned of the crash from the rental company on Wednesday. The driver and a passenger in the rental car were reported to have been seen running away from the crash. Police aren't sure if Gardner was there. Oswego police traveled to Indiana to check out the vehicle.

 

[YaYa_521]

Village of Oswego Police, IL
13 Apr 2022
BBM
Oswego Police are asking for help in identifying this man. He was a passenger in a 2021 white Dodge Charger rented by a missing Bolingbrook man about 5 minutes before the Dodge Charger was involved in a multi-car crash in Hammond, IN, near the 2500 block of 169th Street at approximately 1:55 a.m., 3/29/22. It is unknown if he was in the car at the time of the crash, the occupants ran from the crash scene.

The man is described as a black male, about 5'3" & 120 lbs., wearing a red hoodie, black puffy jacket, jeans, blue nitrile gloves and black shoes.

The car appears to have already been damaged, on the driver's side window and the right front bumper underneath the headlight, before the crash occurred.

Anyone with any information is urged to call the Oswego Police Department at 630-551-7300 or Kendall County CrimeStoppers to report information anonymously at 630-553-5999.
This is related to Edward Gardner, reported missing by his family in March.
Hammond Indiana Police Department

 

[Unsolved]

Uh oh that looks mighty suspicious. Looking at it blown up a little, does it look like that person has blue latex gloves on to you?

 

[YaYa_521]

Uh oh that looks mighty suspicious. Looking at it blown up a little, does it look like that person has blue latex gloves on to you?

View attachment 341018

Yeah, LE described them as "blue nitrile gloves". Seems this guy was being careful not to leave prints and DNA behind. I hope LE posts a reward for information. Someone besides this guy knows something. I highly doubt Edward was one of the two occupants who were seen running from the crashed car. I hate even thinking about what likely happened to Edward. MOO

 

[SpanishMossAntiques]

I live in Chicago: Woodlawn is on the South Side of Chicago. The area is deceptive as if you drive through it during on a weekday afternoon it's very quiet, and you'll hardly see anyone other than a few elderly people walking around. But at night the place comes alive, often with violence, including gang violence. It is a VERY dangerous area! <modsnip> This crime tracker will give you some idea: Crime in Woodlawn - Chicago, IL Crime Map

 

[SpanishMossAntiques]

Yeah, LE described them as "blue nitrile gloves". Seems this guy was being careful not to leave prints and DNA behind. I hope LE posts a reward for information. Someone besides this guy knows something. I highly doubt Edward was one of the two occupants who were seen running from the crashed car. I hate even thinking about what likely happened to Edward. MOO

I think the police need to search Washington Park, the Little Calumet River, and the Lake Michigan shoreline in that area.

 

[Unsolved]

@YaYa_521 Oh yes, I missed that and see where the gloves were mentioned in your info now. Makes me shiver! I hope Edward didn't lose his life over a rental car <sad>.

Hopefully LE has some good views - even with my poor photo skills that first picture might give them something:

 

[BrownRice]

@YaYa_521 Oh yes, I missed that and see where the gloves were mentioned in your info now. Makes me shiver! I hope Edward didn't lose his life over a rental car <sad>.

Hopefully LE has some good views - even with my poor photo skills that first picture might give them something:

View attachment 341163

It doesn’t sound very good.

 

[GraceG]

I saw this information on a Facebook post from his Mom but that isn't permissible to link so I did some looking around and found a CBS news article some time later that had the information. A shell casing (and other evidence) was found in the car but there's an issue in getting forensic processing as the rental car was not reported stolen at the time it was involved in the accident and there is the issue of jurisdiction as to where a crime may have taken place. Eddie Gardner has been missing for almost two months, and family in Oswego says police, Hertz car rental are passing the buck

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I hope he wasn't a crime victim, but unknown persons exiting "his" vehicle is not reassuring. May answers come quickly.

 

[GraceG]

I think there is still much LE is not saying at this point. The fact that the police page (linked in this thread earlier by me) has him with two aliases (neither of which I could find as any kind of social media name for him) is a red flag in my opinion. Renting a high-end car like that (which had to cost extra given his age) and then being seen with it in a part of the city known for gang activity. What was he doing there? It could be as simple as a girl he was trying to impress but it could also be something of darker intent. I do hope his Mom gets some answers soon.

 

[GuyfromCanada]

Oswego police release pictures connected to missing man Eddie Gardner

Video at link, too bad that the quality is not very good.