Crime & Safety

Search Continues for Nick Steward

An extensive search Sept. 29 resulted in no new leads.

A massive search that covered 225 square miles of the Chicago suburbs Sept. 29 resulted in no new leads or signs of Nick Steward, a 33-year-old Lake Villa man who has been missing for nearly two weeks.

Steward was driving home from work Sept. 20 but never made it home. Police have no leads.

More than 100 people, including family and friends, gathered Sept. 29 to search a series of grids that covered Steward's drive home from Wood Dale to Lake Villa. 

"Unfortunately, the search resulted in no leads," according to an update on the Find Nick Steward Facebook page, which was set up by his friends. "No signs of Nick's white 2008 Saturn Aura or Nick himself were found."

Matt Liebgott, one of Steward's friends, told volunteers at the Sept. 29 search that Steward left work in Wood Dale at 5 p.m. Sept. 20.

The latest update on the Facebook page offers a detailed timeline of Steward's disappearance, along with the efforts that have been undertaken to find him.
According to the update, Steward sent his wife a text message to tell her he was on his way home and called his parents to check in with them.

"This was a very brief call and he ended with saying his cell phone battery was almost dead," according to the Facebook page update. "Nick is very close to his family and this was also a typical phone call. They spoke daily."

Steward had a brief conversation with his boss, who called to ask about the traffic conditions, at 5:28 p.m. Though initial reports stated that his cell phone registered a "ping" at 10:28 p.m., family and friends learned that Steward's 5:28 p.m. call was indicated in cell phone records as 10:28 p.m. GMT.

"The time zone was incorrectly interpreted earlier, and we'd like to clarify this now, as it has been repeated often as an indication that Nick got off the highway and spent time in that area," according to the Find Nick Steward Facebook page.

Steward passed through the Touhy Avenue toll plaza at 5:28 p.m., which was registered by his I-Pass transponder. The transponder has not been used since.

Family and friends stated on the Find Nick Steward page that they conduct daily searches in various areas. Helicopter searches of the area have been performed as well. Financial transactions, cell phone records, social media accounts and hospitals are all being monitored, according to the Facebook page. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the Lake Villa Police Department at (847) 356-6106.


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