IL IL - Sarah Avon, 6, Joliet, 21 July 1981

In 1985 David R. Collins, a pedophile with a long criminal record, who used many aliases, was charged with kidnapping one teenager in California and sexually abusing several others in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Police found 25 photos of young girls in Collins' apartment and published them in a newspaper in hopes that the public could identify the people in them. One picture in his apartment was thought to be of Sarah Avon, a six-year-old who vanished from Illinois in 1981, but that possibility was ruled out.

At this time, Collins is not believed to have been involved in Sarah's disappearance. Her case remains unsolved.

Bumping for any updates....

Bumping - 36 years tomorrow.

It looks like Richards St intersects with I-80 - meaning that if she was abducted they could have hit the highway and gotten far quickly.

Fixing original link:

http://www.missingkids.com/poster/NCMC/600166/1

I hope that Sarah's family will get some answers in 2018. x

This would be your worst nightmare, wouldn't it? Just gone. I have survived the death of a child, but we buried her and were able to move on. I really cannot imagine the pain of having your child just disappear at the hands of another and forever wondering what happened to her and what she endured.

I'm so sorry to hear that you have been through that Jennifer.

You are so right. After the death of a loved one, its so important to be able to give them a proper funeral and have a place to be able to grieve them properly. In these circumstances, the family can't even do that.

Its just the cruellest thing imaginable.

I escaped a stranger abduction attempt in Wisconsin circa 1984. I keep wondering if there's something in my experience that could help provide info to help solve other unsolved cases. I was born in 1978, so I was about 6 years old in 1984. Not only does this case involve a missing person of roughly the same age as I was when I escaped my would-be abductor.... but I was struck by the message about how one of the suspects was not from the area. There was something that my attempted abductor said that makes me certain that he was NOT from the area, and was likely from somewhere in the southern US. Richard's comment above, about a suspect with suspected victims in California or Louisiana peaked my interest.
I'm happy to provide more info if it's helpful to anyone. I don't have a TON of info to share... but I do have a clear mental picture of the guy and his car, and the words he used that were not at all common to the area where I was almost abducted, as well as a fairly close estimate of the exact date.

Sarah Avon Abducted 37 Years Ago: Ferak Column

This past week marked another anniversary in Joliet, but it's a sad, agonizing anniversary. On July 21, 1981, a Tuesday night, 6-year-old Sarah Avon was playing outside with her 5-year-old sister, Marie, on Joliet's southeast side. Shortly before dark, Sarah vanished. She was never seen alive again. The Will County Sheriff's Department never found her body and sheriff's detectives did not catch the person who kidnapped and killed Sarah.

i live near where sarah was abducted. it's so saddening that there is so little information in this case. i am trying to get her case some more recognition in hopes of finding out what really happened to sarah someday.

A Bump for Sarah, with current: Sarah Elizabeth Avon – The Charley Project

Sarah Elizabeth Avon – The Charley Project
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Sarah Elizabeth Avon

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Sarah, circa 1981; Age-progression to age 38 (circa 2013)

• Missing Since07/21/1981
• Missing FromJoliet, Illinois
• ClassificationNon-Family Abduction
• Date of Birth01/06/1975 (44)
• Age6 years old
• Height and Weight4'0, 75 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry DescriptionA Joliet District Soccer t-shirt, blue jogging pants with red and white stripes and blue sneakers with a white stripe.
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian female. Blonde hair, brown eyes.

Details of Disappearance
Sarah was last seen with her sister at the end of Richards Street in Joliet, Illinois on July 21, 1981. The girls met friends at that location and Sarah walked away from the group after having an argument with another child. She was reported missing by her family at approximately 9:00 p.m. that evening, but no trace of her was found. Sarah has never been seen again.

A man told authorities in 1993 that he suspected his mentally disabled nephew had murdered Sarah in 1981. His nephew would have been a child at that time. The man also stated that he believed his nephew's father, who was deceased by 1993, had buried her body to protect his son. A vacant lot was excavated later in the year where authorities suspected Sarah may be buried, but nothing was located. Sarah's former babysitter had once lived in a residence where the lot was located.

In January 1985, three and a half years after Sarah vanished, police thought they saw her picture in the apartment of David R. Collins. Collins, who has a long criminal record and uses many aliases, was charged with kidnapping one teenager in California and sexually abusing several others in New Orleans, Louisiana. 25 pictures of young girls were found in his apartment; police published them in newspapers in hopes that the public could identify the people in them.

One of the subjects in the pictures was believed to be Sarah, but was eventually identified as another person. One other photograph was thought of be of Nelida Del Valle, a nine-year-old who disappeared from Massachusetts in 1976, but this possibility was also ruled out. Collins is not believed to have been involved in either girl's case.

Police dug underneath an old garage on Noel Road, south of Joliet, in 2004. They were hoping to find Sarah's remains. They did find some clothing, but they could not find any evidence relating to Sarah's case.

Some agencies may list February 21, 1981 as the date of Sarah's disappearance.

Sarah, where are you?

Left and center: Avon, circa 1981; Right: Age-progression to 32 years old

Sarah Elizabeth Avon
Missing since July 21, 1981 from Joliet, Will County, Illinois.
Classification: Non-Family Abduction

Vital Statistics

• • Date Of Birth: January 6, 1975
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 6 years old
  • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'0; 45 pounds
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Dark blonde/brown hair; brown eyes.
  • Clothing: Sarah was last seen wearing a Joliet District soccer t-shirt and blue jogging pants with red and white stripes. Blue tennis shoes with a white stripe.

Circumstances of Disappearance

Avon was reported as missing from her family's home in Joliet, Illinois around 21:00 on July 21, 1981. Sarah and her sister, younger by a year, joined their friends where Richards Street ends. Sarah walked away after disagreeing with a young companion. She never returned home. She has never been seen since and there are few clues as to her whereabouts.

Investigators

If you have any information about this case, please contact:
Will County Sheriff's Office
Detective W. Ratajack
815-727-8575
You may remain anonymous if you wish.

Agency Case Number: M9308823
NCMEC #: NCMC600166
NCIC Number: M627554170

Source Information:
The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
NamUs MP #2747
The Doe Network: Case File 30DFIL
Sarah Elizabeth Avon – The Charley Project

Sarah Elizabeth Avon

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• 

Sarah, circa 1981; Age-progression to age 38 (circa 2013)

• Missing Since 07/21/1981
• Missing From Joliet, Illinois
• Classification Non-Family Abduction
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 01/06/1975 (45)
• Age 6 years old
• Height and Weight 4'0, 75 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A Joliet District Soccer t-shirt, blue jogging pants with red and white stripes and blue sneakers with a white stripe.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, brown eyes.

Details of Disappearance
Sarah was last seen with her five-year-old sister at the end of Richards Street in Joliet, Illinois on July 21, 1981. The girls met friends at that location and Sarah walked across the street, from the group, after having an argument with another child.

She was reported missing by her family at approximately 9:00 p.m. that evening, but no trace of her was found. Sarah has never been seen again.

A former neighbor of the Avon family, Ernest Wilson Sr., died in Arkansas in January 1993. After his death, his nephew, Robert Tadej, went to the police and said Wilson had made a "deathbed revelation" about Sarah's disappearance. Wilson was unable to speak at this point, but drew a distinctive triangular shape on a piece of paper and put a circle inside the triangle. Some of his family members thought the drawing was meant to represent the triangular-shaped lot in Joliet where Wilson had lived in 1981.

According to Tadej, Wilson's son had implicated himself and another boy in Sarah's death. He was fifteen years old in 1981 and was known to be mentally disturbed. In a subsequent conversation with Tadej, the nephew admitted he had sexually molested Sarah and was in the house when she was murdered. Tadej said he thought Wilson had buried Sarah's body on his Joliet property in order to protect his son.

A witness has backed up the story, saying that in 1981, when the witness was a teenager, he went outside during the night and saw Wilson digging a deep hole in the yard with a shovel. The hole was chest-deep. When the witness asked Wilson why he was digging, Wilson said he planned to transplant sunflower plants.

On another night, the same witness saw Wilson operating his bulldozer, pushing mounds of dirt near Hickory Creek and knocking down trees at the junction of Hickory Creek and Spring Creek. Later, the Wilson family moved their above-ground swimming pool to near the location where Wilson had used his bulldozer to pile up dirt.

After getting the tip from Tadej, police dug up the vacant lot on Miller Avenue that had been Wilson's property in 1981. The search turned up nothing and was called off after a few days. However, one official involved believed the area being excavated was too small for them to be sure Sarah's body wasn't buried on the lot. The witness who saw Wilson digging the chest-deep hole thought the authorities were not excavating deep enough during their search for Sarah, and he told them so, but they paid no attention.

In January 1985, three and a half years after Sarah vanished, police thought they saw her picture in the apartment of David R. Collins. Collins, who has a long criminal record and uses many aliases, was charged with kidnapping one teenager in California and sexually abusing several others in New Orleans, Louisiana. 25 pictures of young girls were found in his apartment; police published them in newspapers in hopes that the public could identify the people in them.

One of the subjects in the pictures was believed to be Sarah, but was eventually identified as another person. One other photograph was thought of be of Nelida Del Valle, a nine-year-old who disappeared from Massachusetts in 1976, but this possibility was also ruled out. Collins is not believed to have been involved in either girl's case.

Police dug underneath an old garage on Noel Road, south of Joliet, in 2004. They were hoping to find Sarah's remains. They did find some clothing, but they could not find any evidence relating to Sarah's case.

Her disappearance remains unsolved.

LINK:
Sarah Elizabeth Avon – The Charley Project

Person of interest revealed in Sarah's disappearance. A cousin of her father, poi is deceased. His name and photo are at the link.


'Person of interest' revealed in 1981 Sarah Avon disappearance | The Herald-News

NOV 27, 2020
17 Missing In Will County: One Joliet Case Dates To 1957 | Joliet, IL Patch
[...]

Sarah was 6-and-a-half when she disappeared on the night of July 21, 1981, in Joliet Township, never to be seen again. This past summer, the Will County Sheriff's Office revealed that Billy Redden is the prime suspect in Sarah's disappearance and presumed killing. Redden lived less than two blocks away, in an older two-story house in the 200 block of Reichman Street. He was not a stranger, he was family — her father Chuck's cousin.

In 2010, the 69-year-old Redden died.

Sarah was last seen wearing a Joliet District soccer T-shirt, blue jogging pants with red and white stripes and blue tennis shoes with a white stripe, according to NamUs.

[...]