15 replies to this topic

[Denise]

http://www.sj-r.com/...ories/28678.asp

Reward offered for tips on Bianco disappearance

STAFF REPORT

Published Tuesday, April 15, 2008

 

The family of a missing Springfield woman is offering a $2,000 reward for information about her disappearance.

Michelle "Shelly" Bianco, 43, of the Lincoln Place Mobile Home Park off Old Route 36 east of Springfield last spoke to her boyfriend by phone about 7:30 p.m. April 5 and said she was at her cousin's house near South Grand and Wheeler avenues. He said Bianco sounded fine and told him she was going to call her son for a ride home.

That was the last he heard from her.

On Monday afternoon, authorities used canine units to search the area around her cousin's house with no results.

Friends and family members plan to meet at Wheeler and South Grand at 6 p.m. Wednesday to continue the search for Bianco, who they describe as a homebody who had no reason to leave town.

She did not have a vehicle or cell phone. She is described as 5-foot-7, 110 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. She may have been wearing blue jeans and a blue sweater, black shoes with short heels and possibly a blue coat.

Riverside Park, Dreamland Park and the rock quarry near Four Seasons already have been searched.

An account has been opened at National City Bank to collect donations for the reward fund.

Anyone with information about Bianco's whereabouts should call the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office at (217) 753-6840.

[Denise]

http://illinoishomep...text/?cid=12592

Michelle Bianco Search

Reported by: Erin Maloney/ MyCFN & WCIA 3 News
Monday, Apr 14, 2008 @10:33pm CST

Until today, Michelle's family has been searching in wooded areas near Lake Springfield. They've also been posting up these missing persons signs around town.

But today police searched this house behind me, as they brought out bags of evidence. Now her family says they want to search the entire neighborhood. After that search, her family went to where she was last seen, her cousin's house.

Her family asked what police found. They're looking for evidence that would point them to, or away from, foul play. Her family will meet at the corner of South Grand and Wheeler this Wednesday at 6 p.m. to comb the neighborhood with police. They're asking for volunteers to help with the search.

[Denise]

http://www.sj-r.com/...ories/28450.asp

City woman missing since weekend

By JAYETTE BOLINSKI
STAFF WRITER
Published Friday, April 11, 2008

Authorities searching for a Springfield woman who hasn’t been heard from since the weekend said Thursday they want her to call her family if she is OK.

Michelle "Shelly" Bianco, 43, last spoke to her boyfriend by phone about 7:30 p.m. Saturday and said she was at her cousin’s house near South Grand and Wheeler avenues. He said Bianco sounded fine and told him she was going to call her son for a ride home.

That was the last he heard from her.

Her boyfriend was out of town hunting turkeys at the time but said he called the cousin's house looking for her, so he knows that's where she was when they spoke.

Bianco's boyfriend said he called her home Sunday morning to check in with her again, but no one answered the phone. He thought she was probably at her son's home and would return later, but when he got to the residence about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, he realized she hadn't been there.

Bianco's son said he had not heard from her, so her family called police about 6 p.m. Information about Bianco and her description was aired to area police officers on Monday, and the boyfriend filed a formal missing person's report on Tuesday.

Detectives with the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office have been trying to track down Bianco. They would not say if they suspect foul play, only that they are searching for a missing adult.

"We have interviewed numerous people in order to help us locate Miss Bianco," said sheriff's Capt. Tom Hendrickson, adding, "If she's out there, she ought to call home."

Bianco did not have a vehicle or a cell phone. She is described as 5-foot-7, 110 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. Her boyfriend checked her closets and believes she probably was wearing blue jeans and a blue sweater, black shoes with short heels on them and possibly a blue coat. She lives in the Lincoln Place Mobile Home Park off Old Route 36.

Anyone with information about Bianco's whereabouts should call the sheriff's office at 753-6840 or urge her to call her family.

[Denise]

http://illinoishomep...text/?cid=12651

Michelle Bianco's Family, Friends, Search

Reported by: Erin Maloney/MyCFN & WCIA 3 News
Wednesday, Apr 16, 2008 @09:38pm CST

The woman who saw Michelle last says she didn't know her very well, but she's sure she saw her being shoved into a car in this neighborhood the night she vanished. That's why authorities are focusing on this neighborhood.

But friends, family, even strangers fanned out across this area hanging flyers and stopping cars. They asked everyone they saw if they've seen Michelle. One man told her family he'd seen her a few days ago wandering around alone. It's leads, and the kindness from strangers, that keep her family going.

""It takes a special person to do something like that. Someone who will just come up and say "Were out here just to help, we dont know her, we dont know you, we're just out to help. That really gets to you," said her brother, Robert Miles.

"If she's out wandering around somewhere, someone has to see her eventually. So it gives me a little bit of hope," said her brother-in-law, Lloyed Noyes.

One man came out and donated $1,000 for reward money, bumping it up to $3,000. The next search will be this Sunday at Sand Bar Tavern on Mechanicsburg Road. If you have any information, call Sangamon County Crimestoppers at 788-8427.

[Denise]

http://www.sj-r.com/...ories/29443.asp

Missing woman's family to conduct search, benefit

Published Sunday, April 27, 2008

A missing Springfield woman's family plans to search for her today near the intersection of North Dirksen Parkway and Sangamon Avenue.

Michelle "Shelly" Bianco, 43, of the Lincoln Place Mobile Home Park off Old Route 36 east of Springfield, disappeared April 5. She is described as 5 feet, 7 inches tall, 110 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes.
She may have been wearing a blue jean jacket, blue sweater, blue jeans, black shoes and carrying a black purse.

The search is set to begin at 11 a.m. today behind the stockyards near The Koo Koo's Nest, 3045 Sangamon Ave., where a 1 p.m. benefit will follow.

Anyone with information about Bianco's disappearance or her whereabouts is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 788-8427 or (800) 397-2288. Tipsters remain anonymous and are eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

[Denise]

http://www.sj-r.com/...ssing-woman-set

Search for missing woman set

STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted May 16, 2008 @ 01:15 AM

Another search for Michelle "Shelly" Miles Bianco will start at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Volunteers are asked to meet in the parking lot of Charlie Parker's restaurant, 700 North St.

Anyone wishing to help search is welcome.

Bianco has been missing since April 5.

The family has increased the amount of a reward for information about Bianco's whereabouts to $10,000.

[Denise]

http://www.bnd.com/b...ory/479188.html

Police still investigating Springfield woman's disappearance

http://www.sj-r.com
The Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. --Springfield-area detectives are continuing to investigate the disappearance of a local woman who was last seen nearly six months ago.

Forty-three-year-old Michelle "Shelly" Miles Bianco was last seen April 5 and has not been heard from since. Her family is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to her recovery.

Sangamon County sheriff's detectives are still investigating the disappearance and Captain Tom Hendrickson says it is still considered an open missing-persons case.

Bianco is described as 5 feet, 7 inches tall and 110 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. At the time of her disappearance, she was believed to be wearing blue jeans, a blue sweater and possibly a blue coat.

[Denise]

http://www.stltoday....73?OpenDocument

Cops still investigating Ill. woman's disappearance

ASSOCIATED PRESS
09/22/2008

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Springfield-area detectives are continuing to investigate the disappearance of a local woman who was last seen nearly six months ago.

Forty-three-year-old Michelle "Shelly" Miles Bianco was last seen April 5 and has not been heard from since. Her family is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to her recovery.

Sangamon County sheriff's detectives are still investigating the disappearance and Captain Tom Hendrickson says it is still considered an open missing-persons case.

Bianco is described as 5 feet, 7 inches tall and 110 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. At the time of her disappearance, she was believed to be wearing blue jeans, a blue sweater and possibly a blue coat.

[Jenn]

Charley Project Profile for Michelle: http://www.charleypr...o_michelle.html

[Lori Davis]

http://illinoishomep...text/?cid=78521

Missing Woman's Family Wants Answers
Reported by: Blake Wood / WCIA 3 & MyCFN News
Monday, Apr 6, 2009 @06:52pm CST

SPRINGFIELD - A missing Riverton woman's family says more needs to be done to find her.

44-year-old Michelle Bianco has been missing for a year.

Her family says communication has broken down with investigators from the Sangamon County Sherriff's office. Michelle's sister says she hasn't heard from the sheriff's department in months. They hired a private investigator on their own.

“We would just like it be over we'd like her to be found so we could have a memorial service for her and get this all behind us,” said sister Pat Noyes.

Investigators say for the most part tips have dried up, but the case is still open.

“We've spent a lot of man hours over the last year looking into the case and we continue to spend as much time as we can,” said Chief Deputy Jack Campbell.

Bianco was last seen at South Grand and Wheeler in April of last year. A witness claims a man pushed her into a car and no one's seen her since.

“We've basically come to a point we realize we have lost her,” said Noyes.

Hope has started to fade as time passes. Investigators say they're no closer to finding answers.

“We know how important this is for the family and it is frustrating to us because we want to help, but we're limited on what information we have,” said Campbell.

Noyes feels there's someone out there who has that information, but she doubts she'll ever find closure.

“I don't think we ever will I really don't. We pray everyday that we will, but I think deep in our hearts we know that we never will,” said Noyes.

The sheriff's department has six other open missing person's cases. They date back to the 1980's.

The family is offering at $10,000 reward for any information leading to Bianco. If you have a tip call Crimestoppers at 217-788-8427.

[Lori Davis]

http://www.sj-r.com/...s-disappearance

Search slowly continues a year after woman's disappearance
By JAYETTE BOLINSKI
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted Apr 07, 2009 @ 12:07 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Springfield woman's disappearance a year ago remains an active missing person's case with county investigators, but tips about her whereabouts have slowed to a trickle, authorities said.

The family of Michelle "Shelly" Miles Bianco ran a full-page ad in Sunday's State Journal-Register to mark one year since Bianco was last seen. The family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to her being found.

Jack Campbell, chief deputy with the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office, said the department received a lead about Bianco three weeks ago. He declined to elaborate on the nature of the tip.

"We take every lead and run it until there's no place left to go with it. When you don't get very many leads, there aren't very many places to go," he said.

"We're hoping the year anniversary sparks some memories. If people have been sitting on something not knowing if it was good information, or if they've been afraid to come forward, we need them to come forward now."

Anyone with information can call investigators at the sheriff's office at 217-753-6840 or can anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 217-788-8427.

Bianco, 44, lived in the Lincoln Place Mobile Home Park off Old Route 36 and last was heard from while at her cousin's home on South Grand Avenue at Wheeler Avenue about 7:30 p.m. April 5, 2008.

She is described as 5 feet, 7 inches tall and 110 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. At the time of her disappearance, Bianco was thought to be wearing blue jeans, a blue sweater and possibly a blue coat.

Campbell would not specify how many tips the county has received about the Bianco case in the last year.

"We've received numerous tips through Crime Stoppers, through friends and family members. We have followed up on all that we could as far as we could take them, and we continue to look into any new leads that come in," Campbell said.

The sheriff's office has six open missing adult cases dating back to 1987.

[Lori Davis]

https://www.findthem.../cases/11825/0/
NamUs profile for Michelle Bianco - Case 11825

[Lori Davis]

http://www.sj-r.com/.../News/307079939

 

Cleveland case gives police, families of missing persons hope

The disappearance of Michelle Bianco five years ago is one of a number of cases in Sangamon County that have puzzled investigators. But in the wake of what happened in Cleveland — where three women allegedly abducted 10 years ago were found alive — advocates say there is a renewed sense of optimism that missing people, like Bianco, eventually will turn up.
 

By Jason Nevel

Posted Jul. 7, 2013 @ 12:01 am

Updated Jul 7, 2013 at 6:03 AM

Not a week has gone by in the past five years that Butch Miles hasn’t thought about his missing sister, Michelle Bianco.

 

The last time anybody heard from the Springfield woman was about 7:30 p.m. on April 5, 2008. Bianco called her boyfriend and told him she was going to call her son for a ride home from her cousin’s house near Wheeler and South Grand avenues.

 

More than five years later, nobody has heard from Bianco, who was 43 years old when she went missing.

 

“It gets harder as each year goes by, but I still have hope,” Miles, 64, says. “You just keep wondering what could have happened.”

 

Bianco’s disappearance is one of a number of cases in Sangamon County that have puzzled investigators for years.

 

Officials with both the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office and Springfield Police Department say leads on all their old, adult missing-person cases have gone cold.

 

But in the wake of what happened recently in Cleveland — where three women allegedly abducted 10 years ago were found alive — advocates say there is a renewed sense of optimism that missing people, like Bianco, eventually will turn up.

 

“After Cleveland, people started to think, just because they went missing, they’re not automatically dead,” said Jerrie Dean, founder of the website www.missingpersonsofamerica.com.

 

‘Worked the leads’

 

Bianco is one of seven missing-adult cases the sheriff’s office has dating back to 1981, records show.

 

The others are:

* Harold Buecker, 1981;

* Cynthia Atterberry, 1981;

* Brenda Bottoms, 1987;

* Patricia Abu-Tayeh, 1989;

* William Chastain, 1999; and

* Duane Grant, 2002.

 

Undersheriff Jack Campbell said all seven cases remain open, but detectives have stopped working them because there haven’t been any new leads.

 

“They worked the leads until there was nothing left to work,” Campbell said. “But we’re always looking for more leads if anyone has any new information.”

 

The same goes for the Springfield Police Department. Deputy Chief Cliff Buscher said the number of missing-person cases varies, but city officers mostly deal with juvenile runaways.

 

Each agency doesn’t have anyone dedicated full time to missing persons, with investigations handled through the detective division.

 

In Springfield, an overall number of disappearances wasn’t available, but the National Missing and Unidentified Persons database lists three people with Springfield ties who are missing, including Bianco.

 

Jeffrey Clinton, 61, vanished in February 2012. The website says his family lost contact with him, but he may have moved to Kansas City, Mo.

 

The disappearance of Keith W. Ryan, who would be 30 Sunday, is more baffling.

 

Ryan, a former bartender in Springfield, went missing in Peoria in April 2005 while having a night out on the town. Ryan told his friends he was going outside for some fresh air and was never seen again.

 

Ryan’s dad, a retired Decatur police detective, told the Peoria Journal Star in July 2008 he suspected his son was dead, possibly at the hand of a serial killer or an organized group of killers. There also were concerns he drowned in the Illinois River.

 

Who is missing?

 

Authorities say there isn’t a strict set of rules for how a person can be declared missing.

 

Campbell said police take into account a number of factors before ever going public with the information.

 

For example, if a husband got into a fight with his wife the night before and walked out, the sheriff’s office probably wouldn’t issue any alerts. However, if the husband is a suicide threat, authorities may be more inclined to do so, he said.

 

Earlier this month, the sheriff’s office opted to notify the media when Timothy Ryan, 57, suddenly disappeared. Ryan’s body was found two weeks later in a wooded area on Springfield’s south side. He died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

 

When a person is declared missing, Campbell said, his or her information is put into a state and national database.

 

Buscher said age is a huge factor in determining how authorities react. If a child under the age of 12 is reported missing, it’s considered critical, meaning officers will converge on an area and begin a search. If that’s unsuccessful, he said, the department may alert the media or issue an Amber Alert. Illinois State Police also can become involved.

 

However, a report of a missing teenager may be taken over the phone and include issuance of an “attempt to locate” over police radios, which isn’t as intense a search, Buscher said.

 

If the teen is still missing after 30 days, which is rare, the case is forwarded to a detective, he said.

 

“It all depends on the circumstances,” Buscher said.

 

Searching for answers

 

Dean, a San Diego-based author and advocate for the missing, said the majority of people who disappear never intended to do so.

 

On her website, she tracks missing-person cases across the country. Often, she said, she’s noticed many cases turn out to be accidental deaths.

 

The person may have gone hiking, ice fishing, swimming or rafting and never returned. She’s also seen cases where the person’s vehicle went off the side of a cliff.

 

Generally, she said, 75 percent of the people who go missing show up in a couple of days, and 90 percent within a week. It’s that remaining 10 percent who leave her scratching her head. They’re why she became interested in missing-person cases.

 

“I needed answers because I just couldn’t understand where these people were going,” Dean said.

 

In Sangamon County, Campbell said the sheriff’s office’s cases vary, but authorities suspect some could be homicides, possibly with roots in prostitution, domestic violence or illegal drug activity.

 

In the case of Bianco, Miles said, each family member has his or her own suspicions about what happened, but most believe foul play was involved.

 

Over the years, he said, there have been numerous searches, and the family even hired a private investigator. Nothing came of that.

 

The Cleveland case didn’t move the dial for him, but Miles said the family takes note any time a body is discovered, just in case.

 

“We’re going to keep trying to find her,” he said.

 

More awareness

 

The Cleveland case could force authorities nationwide to be more receptive to potential clues, according to Dean.

 

Cleveland police were criticized after neighbors claimed they reported seeing disturbing things coming from alleged kidnapper Ariel Castro’s home over the past decade, but nothing was done.

 

Dean said Cleveland police simply checked the ramshackle property, but never tried to go inside the home or became suspicious of boarded-up windows in the garage.

 

“I think now police may decide to look at things a little more closely,” she said.

 

There also have been encouraging signs recently that the number of missing-person cases nationwide could dwindle, Dean said.

 

She said DNA testing is helping solve cold cases, but more people need to submit samples. Family members of missing persons also should consider hiring a private investigator and need to take advantage of different websites dedicated to helping find missing people, she noted.

 

“These families are just going to keep holding on to that little bit of hope that their child someday is going to come through that door,” Dean said. “They’ll never be able to have that closure until they know for sure.”

***

 

Missing persons on file locally

 

Dennis Reynolds, 1978

 

Reynolds, 24, left his mother and stepfather’s home in Litchfield on Feb. 10, 1978, without saying where he was going. Two days later, his car was found abandoned with his jacket inside.

 

Harold Buecker, 1981

 

Buecker, 63, was to attend a meeting to discuss a business deal Nov. 18, 1981, but never got there. His unlocked truck was found empty, parked in front of his office at Loami Lake Estates mobile home park.

 

Cynthia Atterberry, 1981

 

Atterberry’s family last heard from her when she and her boyfriend moved from Springfield to Colorado in May 1981. Four years later, investigators got a tip from a prison inmate, saying he helped bury the couple’s bodies in encased steel drums near the Pike National Forest in Colorado. A search was conducted. No bodies were found. Atterbery was 25.

 

Brenda Bottoms, 1987

 

Bottoms, 23, left her Auburn home for a nearby tavern and never came back June 29, 1987. One of the best leads the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office had was from a witness who said he saw her get into a brown car with two men that night.

 

Patricia Danner Abu-Tayeh, 1989

 

The last time anyone saw her alive was Jan. 7, 1989. Patricia, 34, took her husband, Abed, to his parents’ house in Springfield and left to run some errands. She stopped back by his parents’ house and returned home to Glenarm. Abed got a ride home later from a friend. He said she was gone when he arrived. Authorities said at the time Abed did not “fully cooperate” in the attempts to locate his wife.

 

William Chastain, 1999

 

Chastain, 62, was reported missing to Rochester police on June 11, 1999. Three days later, a resident called authorities to report a Ford pickup had been parked in the Buckhart river bottoms. Rescue crews searched the Sangamon River but never found a body. Police think he may have drowned.

 

Duane Grant, 2002

 

Grant’s family said they last saw him Nov. 30, 2002, at Big R, 2804 N. Dirksen Parkway. His sister gave him a ride to a cafe on North Grand Avenue, where he was supposed to have a job interview that day. He was 28.

 

Keith Ryan, 2005

 

Ryan, a 22-year-old former Springfield bartender, went missing in Peoria in April 13, 2005, while having a night out on the town. He told his friends he was going outside for some fresh air and was never seen again.

 

Michelle Bianco, 2008

 

Bianco, 43, lived in the Lincoln Place Mobile Home Park off Old Route 36 and last was heard from April 5, 2008, while she was at her cousin’s home on South Grand Avenue East.

 

Jeffrey Clinton, 2012

 

Clinton, 60, vanished in February 2012. The National Missing and Unidentified Persons database said the family lost contact with him, but he may have moved to Kansas City, Mo.

[Deborah]

Michelle is still missing.

 

https://www.findthem...n/cases/11825/4

[Lori Davis]

http://foxillinois.c...ing-person-case

 

Crimestoppers Offers $5,000 in Missing Person Case

 

BY BRENDAN CULLERTON THURSDAY, JULY 14TH 2016

 

Sangamon - Menard County Crime stoppers is now offering $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest in the disappearance of a woman who went missing years ago.

 

43-year-old Michelle Bianco was last seen near her cousins house on the corner of Wheeler Avenue and South Grand in 2008.

 

She willingly accepted a ride home from a white male in a black Pontiac with faded paint and was never seen again. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. She was 5'7'' and 112 lbs. The sheriff's office says it will be a tough case to solve with so little information.

 

"It's hard to build anything until you know if she is deceased, or where she is," Capt. Gerry Felts said. "What's the cause. Because obviously we cant, we don't know those things."

 

Law enforcement believes Bianco is deceased because there has been no financial activity on her accounts or communication since that night, but Officer Mike Badger says there is still hope.

 

"There's always a possibility and a hope that we could find somebody that's missing and they could still be alive. Around the country they've found some people that have been missing for years and years being held in homes and so forth."

 

The increased $5,000 reward counts for any tips leading to finding Bianco's potential killer.

 

Any tips leading to local homicide arrests will be worth the extra reward money through September.

 

Anyone with information can call investigators at the sheriff's office at 217-753-6840 or can anonymously call Crime Stoppers at 217-788-8427.