Missing Bourbon Street Employee Dan Davis's Cause, Manner Of Death Determined Inconclusive

CHICAGO—The cause and manner of death for 115 Bourbon Street employee, Dan Davis, 59, who went missing last fall, have been certified as as “undertimined” due to the passage of time before he was found, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner.

Daniel Clyde Davis III was last seen alive in the early morning hours of Nov. 25, 2025, at Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park after he got into a car crash hours earlier, near the Garden Homes Fire Department. A Cook County Sheriff’s Police officer had given Davis, who may have suffered a head injury in the crash, a lift back to Bourbon Street after Davis had refused medical attention.

His daughter, Wendy Davis, and other friends and family members were just hours behind Dan’s footsteps as he was captured numerous times on home security cameras wandering the streets of Blue Island while appearing to be in a disoriented state.

Further evidence at his Midpoint Apartment in Mount Greenwood also showed indications that Davis may have suffered a medical episode, possibly a mini stroke, his daughter told Patch. A chair and plant were found turned over, and a frozen dinner was placed upside down in the microwave.

Millions of people around the world kept up with the desperate ground search for Davis, thanks largely to the efforts of his daughter, Wendy, who kept her father in the news cycle and in the social media algorithm.

Sadly, Dan’s body was found March 9 near water behind a truck yard on Wireton Road on the border of Blue Island and Alsip.

In a statement posted on the Finding Dan Davis Facebook page, his daughter obtained her father’s autopsy results from the medical examiner.

“In consideration of the circumstances surrounding [Davis’s] death as they are known at the time of writing, the available investigation, and ancillary testing, the cause of death of 59-year-old Daniel Clyde Davis III is certified as UNDETERMINED,” the Cook County Medical Examiner said.

The manner of Davis's death was deemed “undetermined.”

“Because of the circumstances under which Mr. Davis entered the water are unknown … Should additional information came to light, the case may be reviewed, and cause and/or manner of death may be amended as appropriate,” the medical examiner said.

The family said in a statement they do know Dan "passed soon after he went missing, but unfortunately was there for three months before being located.”

“Because of this amount of time, it is nearly impossible to scientifically determine what could have medically caused all of this in the first place,” the Davis family said. “According to the report, he was in fairly average health for a man of his age. It has nothing clearly pointing toward a stroke, although that will likely remain our suspicion. We also know that he thankfully did not sustain any injuries and there is no foul play suspected. “

Davis was the long-time lighting director at Bourbon Street Bourbon Street whose creativity was well known around Chicago’s music scene.

His daughter, Wendy, a professional photographer, is currently working on a book about the search for her father. She and her family also plan to start a nonprofit organization to help other families with missing loved ones.

“In a nutshell, Dan Davis worked hard. He loved hard. He laughed hard. He played hard. He lived hard. Until he just didn’t.”