Hoping to bring Rachel home
Investigator offers reward in missing teen case
By Christy Gutowski
Daily Herald Legal Affairs Writer
Posted Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Rachel Marie Mellon vanished more than 10 years ago.
Although the 13-year-old Bolingbrook girls body was never found, police are all but certain the seventh-grader was murdered Jan. 31, 1996, after she stayed home from school with a sore throat.
A private detective with an interest in the case is hoping a $30,000 reward will generate new leads to finally bring Rachel home and nab her killer.
James J. Miller, who owns a Chicago-based agency, said hes long followed Rachels disappearance and wanted to help. He lives in Woodridge.
We have an indication that now is the perfect time to see if someone will come forward with information, he said.
Police still cling to their long-held theory that Rachels stepfather knows something, but despite numerous interviews, lie detector tests, saliva and DNA samples, phone taps and the convening of a Will County grand jury, he has never been charged with any wrongdoing.
The stepfather, Vincent Mellon, now 39, maintains his innocence. In unrelated cases, though, Mellon faces jail time when hes re-sentenced Aug. 28 for two misdemeanor domestic battery charges in Will County. He also faces a Sept. 12 trial for a DUI.
Mellon was the last person to see Rachel alive. He told police the two spent the morning playing video games. As Rachel napped, Mellon said, he ventured into near-20-below zero temperatures to walk their dog, Duke. The stepfather said he returned 30 minutes later.
The family didnt notice that Rachel was missing until that evening. Police found no signs of forced entry. Only a blue blanket and two pillows were missing. Rachels coat, shoes and her purse werent taken
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