Found Deceased IL - Jake Cefolia, 49, jogging, car found, SVP of United Airlines, Chicago, 6 Aug 2020

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If your plan is to drop out of life in the USA and take up residence off-the-grid or under-the-radar overseas, would you:

1) start your disappearance from your suburban home deep within U.S. borders mere hours before multiple trigger events would alert the world to your MIA status?

or

2) Schedule an extended vacation out of the country and then once safely outside U.S. borders immediately activate your plan to disappear/go off-the-grid / whatever? Giving you 2 weeks or more time where you're not missing from work or missing meetups with your family. No need to smuggle yourself out of the U.S. . No short turn-around btw when you're last visible to when your absence is noticed.


If dude wanted to drop out and live overseas under a different identity, starting his plan the way he did doesn't seem like the best way to go about it. Tell everyone you're taking 2 weeks vacation out of the country and then once outside the country disappear. Doesn't trigger domestic LE right away, or maybe even at all. Overcomes the hurdle of sneaking out of the country undetected. Builds in a delay between when you can start your new life and when anyone at all notices that you've taken off. And if you pick the right part of the world, gives you the ability to cross more porous borders of multiple smaller nations and jurisdictions to further cover your tracks.
 
Penny4YourThoughts said:
Good find ... What do you/anyone here make of this new involvement?
Click to expand...
I would guess that Chicago PD has some more sophisticated search resources than DuPage County and their help was either offered or requested. Both Elmhurst and Waterglen Fall Preserve are at the edge of DuPage County adjacent to Cook Co. The mysterious pending criminal investigation might also involve Chicago if justification was needed.
 
thesaint said:
If your plan is to drop out of life in the USA and take up residence off-the-grid or under-the-radar overseas, would you:

1) start your disappearance from your suburban home deep within U.S. borders mere hours before multiple trigger events would alert the world to your MIA status?

or

2) Schedule an extended vacation out of the country and then once safely outside U.S. borders immediately activate your plan to disappear/go off-the-grid / whatever? Giving you 2 weeks or more time where you're not missing from work or missing meetups with your family. No need to smuggle yourself out of the U.S. . No short turn-around btw when you're last visible to when your absence is noticed.


If dude wanted to drop out and live overseas under a different identity, starting his plan the way he did doesn't seem like the best way to go about it. Tell everyone you're taking 2 weeks vacation out of the country and then once outside the country disappear. Doesn't trigger domestic LE right away, or maybe even at all. Overcomes the hurdle of sneaking out of the country undetected. Builds in a delay between when you can start your new life and when anyone at all notices that you've taken off. And if you pick the right part of the world, gives you the ability to cross more porous borders of multiple smaller nations and jurisdictions to further cover your tracks.
Click to expand...

While I see what you’re saying, I’m not sure I agree. For two main reasons:
1) While it’s mentioned that traveling somewhere first gives you a head-start, disappearing from where you’re from makes it more likely that people will think the disappearance is self-harm, misadventure, or foul play. That’s what many people thought about this case at first; they’re minds didn’t all go to, ‘He disappeared willingly.’ If you disappear when you’re already in another country, that theory would be more likely to come up right away. It’s very hard to believe someone in this day and age can leave so little trace and disappear so quickly, so take advantage of that. Not everyone can do it, but if anyone had the means, it was this guy.

2) While clearly it’s a lot of work to plan an effective disappearance, doing it from somewhere outside of the U.S. adds even more extra effort if you’re a bit obsessive about it. You don’t know the ins and outs of your environment by heart, so there are more likely to be complications in your plan — say, a security camera or public transportation card tracks you in ways you don’t anticipate even if you’re familiar with the country. And in several countries, you might stick out to the extent that disappearing is harder, especially if you’re a single white traveler with slightly distinctive looks. Better to have the last sighting of you by a grainy camera near your house than by a group of foreign strangers who recall your state of mind and appearance quite well, and have no loyalties to you.
 
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Private Eye Looks At Elmhurst Missing Person Case
ELMHURST, IL — The family of Jake Cefolia hired a private investigator shortly after the Elmhurst resident went missing in early August.

...
The investigator is Robert Pavelchik, who has been a police chief in Darien, Willowbrook and Villa Park. He is listed as working for Gold Shield Detective Agency, a national firm.

....

In response to Pavelchik, the police declined to release the criminal investigation report or the warrant. A city attorney cited the state's open records law in the denial.


On Wednesday, Patch reported that Cefolia, who was United's senior vice president for worldwide sales, is no longer considered an employee of the company. A United spokesman said Cefolia's replacement has not been named.

————————————
I wonder if his family knew what he was/is under investigation for?
 
Missing Elmhurst Man No Longer United Exec


Information about Cefolia, senior vice president of worldwide sales, has been removed from the section of United Airlines' website about the company's leadership team. It is unclear when it was taken down.

A United spokesman confirmed Wednesday the company has not yet named a replacement for Cefolia.
 
United names a head of worldwide sales

RSBM The United announcement made no reference to Cefolia. The then-49-year-old executive was last seen Aug. 6 in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst. His vehicle was found in the parking area of the 2,500-acre Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in DuPage County, west of Chicago, two days later.

Elmhurst police chief Michael Ruth did not immediately respond to a phone inquiry Tuesday about the status of the Cefolia case.
 
kelsie said:
depending on what he's mixed up in, he could've "gotten" disappeared. if that makes sense.
Click to expand...
I understand what you mean and it’s certainly a possibility. I think he disappeared voluntarily and is living happily somewhere far away, unencumbered by pesky legal inquiries and a critical ex-wife. And he’s probably not alone.

I also think the police and family know where he is, in a general sense anyway. Jake is not a dumb man and likely created an incentive for the ex-wife to stay publicly mum as to his location if known. An incentive that might be a component of the trust he created shortly before his disappearance. And LE has no duty (and perhaps no right) to tell us where he is.

We’ll never know and Jake is just fine w/that. JMO
 
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This is old article but has some small details I may have previously missed......

"The records also show that Cefolia had contact with police on August 6, two days before he was reported missing. The report includes only a notation about this, and does not include any details about the type of contact."

Maybe this spooked him that he was gonna be arrested/ charged with something soon?? I wonder if there is a police report / ticket from his contact with police that day?


Witness may have seen missing United Airlines exec Jake Cefolia after his last confirmed sighting at gas station

My opinion only.
 
Regarding the 'criminal investigation' before his disappearance, would he not have been suspended from his job at United if it were:
a) that serious
b) involved United in some way, such as corporate misdemeanours or fraud etc. ??

Regarding the note on the front door, which is very odd.
Why did the co-worker pin a note to his door? Couldn't they have placed it in the mailbox or slid it under the door? Better still, why not just send a text or an email to Jake?

What are your thoughts?
 
Regarding the note:
Maybe the coworker had sent/left messages (text and/or telephone) to no avail...
Hence coworker goes to see if Jake is home & with (still) no response, he leaves a note???

Just a thought...fwiw.
 
thesaint said:
If your plan is to drop out of life in the USA and take up residence off-the-grid or under-the-radar overseas, would you:

1) start your disappearance from your suburban home deep within U.S. borders mere hours before multiple trigger events would alert the world to your MIA status?

or

2) Schedule an extended vacation out of the country and then once safely outside U.S. borders immediately activate your plan to disappear/go off-the-grid / whatever? Giving you 2 weeks or more time where you're not missing from work or missing meetups with your family. No need to smuggle yourself out of the U.S. . No short turn-around btw when you're last visible to when your absence is noticed.


If dude wanted to drop out and live overseas under a different identity, starting his plan the way he did doesn't seem like the best way to go about it. Tell everyone you're taking 2 weeks vacation out of the country and then once outside the country disappear. Doesn't trigger domestic LE right away, or maybe even at all. Overcomes the hurdle of sneaking out of the country undetected. Builds in a delay between when you can start your new life and when anyone at all notices that you've taken off. And if you pick the right part of the world, gives you the ability to cross more porous borders of multiple smaller nations and jurisdictions to further cover your tracks.
Click to expand...

Jake's probably reading this thinking, ***** I should've done that.
 
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oceanverde said:
Despite his disappearance, missing United Airlines exec Jake Cefolia sells Elmhurst home for $523,000
Click to expand...

Despite Cefolia being a missing person, the house was able to go under contract and make it to a closing and sell because in May 2018, Cefolia gave power of attorney for property to a relative, Rudy Piedra. A document authorizing Piedra with those powers was recorded with DuPage County at the same time as the Nov. 5 sale.

Cefolia paid $560,000 for the house in 2016. In June 2020 — two months before he went missing — Cefolia listed the house for $589,900. He then reduced his asking price to $574,900 in July and then to $549,900 on Aug. 3. The house went under contract Aug. 5, and several days later, he disappeared.

Piedra declined to comment in a text message, saying, “following the wishes of the family, there will be no comments on this matter.”
RSBBM





 
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