Chicago Heights Family Desperate To Find Son Missing Nearly 3 Weeks

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — A Chicago Heights mother whose son has been missing since earlier this month is pleading for him to come home.

Danielle VanVliet says she believes her 14-year-old adopted son, Chance Anderson-Barnes, is with his biological siblings in Chicago, and that he may have been coerced to leave.

Chance was last seen March 8 in Chicago Heights, VanVliet told Patch. VanVliet said she has spoken with police in Chicago Heights and Chicago, as well as the Cook County Sheriff's Office. With authorities calling him a runaway, VanVliet has turned to social media in hopes of raising awareness and helping find him.

Chance has been with the VanVliet since he was 9 years old and was adopted at 12 years old, she said. A student at Parker Jr. High, Chance is a talented athlete and musician.

"Chance has been the joy of my life," she said.

Chance has overcome numerous obstacles during his time with the family. In fourth grade when he joined them, VanVliet said he struggled to read, then worked past several learning disabilities to climb to honors coursework.

At home, he was a loving sibling to the VanVliet's biological teen, and to other adopted and foster children who are now adults.

"He’s a super-happy, jovial guy," she said. "He’s my Velcro shadow."

VanVliet said the Department of Children and Family Services told the family he had come from an abusive household, and his mother had died. There was no additional parent from whom to terminate parental rights, VanVliet said.

VanVliet originally knew of two of Chance's biological siblings, with whom he has maintained relationships. They later learned of 12 more, she said.

"I found them on Facebook, connected, gave them photos and updates," she said of her efforts to connect the siblings.

She understood Chance seeking out connection with them, and attempted to arrange meetings so the siblings could visit.

Two months ago, she says Chance's behavior changed. He became more rebellious and outspoken. She learned he had created a Facebook account, and one of the earlier-known siblings put him in touch with others, VanVliet said.

Their influence on him soon became clear, she said.

In one instance, Chance was grounded for a short time and restricted from his phone as a result. One of the siblings then bought him a burner phone so they could continue communicating, she said.

"His behavior kept getting weirder and weirder," she said. "All of a sudden, he didn’t want to be around me, or around our family."

One evening, his mom said Chance ran away from home and was gone for six hours before calling 911 for help. He had realized he did not have a place to stay, she said.

"He was scared, and it was cold," she said. "He came home."

VanVliet said she learned that through messages, his siblings had been "coaching" Chance on ways to report his adopted parents to DCFS.

"At 14, you want to know who your people are," she said, "but they were feeding him things that weren’t true. They all knew how to get in contact with me. They had my phone number, Facebook."

Still, DCFS did their due diligence, and it was welcomed.

"DCFS came out, they did what they were supposed to," VanVliet said. "For once, I will say they did their job."

In mulling what has made Chance susceptible to his siblings' influence, VanVliet—who is a social worker at Homewood-Flossmoor High School—acknowledged the family has endured some traumatic incidents in recent years. Two years ago, her husband had a heart transplant. Within six months of that, a fire destroyed their home. The town rallied around them to uplift the family, raising more than $24,000.

But so much trauma can be jarring for a child, she said.

"I know for him—he was stable in his life and in our home—in those 18 months, a lot of instability occurred in our life," VanVliet admitted. "These last couple of years have been very difficult because of all the change."

In therapy both in and out of his school environment, Chance was getting ample emotional support, she said. After learning of his conversations with other siblings, the therapist tried to intervene and alerted both the family and police to the nature of the siblings' messages.

"She felt it was her duty to warn us that these siblings were coercing him into making choices he shouldn’t be making," VanVliet said.

One night shortly before he was last seen, Chance and his parents argued over Chance wanting to attend private school at Marist High School. It set in motion what she said she later learned were almost frantic messages to the lesser-known siblings. Though VanVliet had blocked many of their numbers from his phone, he had contacted a different sibling seeking them, and the sibling complied, she said.

"From Saturday to Sunday morning, he called two of his siblings 25 times. Sunday morning at 9:52 a.m., he left his phone in his room and walked out the front door," VanVliet said. "Got in an Uber—we didn’t pay for it, and neither did he.

"We’re assuming an adult sent him an Uber. We can’t find out who, or find out where it took him."

VanVliet reported it to Chicago Heights Police, and filed a missing persons report. After learning he'd been spotted in Chicago—in the areas of 71st and Jefferies, 80th and Houston and 79th and Exchange—they also reported it to Chicago Police. She said she believes he's being moved between several siblings' homes.

Chance is also listed on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website.

Additionally, on March 26, the South Cook Intermediate Service Center issued a truancy notice, stating that by Illinois law, whoever has custody of a child between the ages of 7 and 17 must ensure that the the child attend school.

The family is also being told that, because it seems Chance left of his own accord, there is little police can do. They're now seeking to hire a private investigator and a lawyer who can help with a protective order against the siblings—the latter in hopes of requiring he be returned to them. Both services are costly, she said.

"I’m blessed and fortunate because I have family that will help," she said, "and I have a full-time job and my husband has a full-time job.

"It’s scary to me that as a social worker, if I wasn’t in this position, I couldn’t do those things. Even now, I’m struggling to do them, to find reputable companies."

VanVliet said they've also contacted Child Find of America, a national non-profit organization that provides free, professional services to prevent and resolve child abductions, runaway cases, and family conflicts.

"They start negotiations with families when stuff like this does happen," VanVliet said. "They send letters to anyone they think might be in possession of the child."

Community support on social media has been encouraging, with many sharing posts about Chance and informing how to act if he's seen.

"A lot of people have shared the posts, which we’re very appreciative of," she said.

Still, she said she can't help but feel Chance is being failed by all the systems meant to help children like him.

"The story is about how these brown kids are being failed through the system," VanVliet said. "Every system fails these kids, and it's just awful."

Chance Anderson-Barnes is described as 5-foot-7, 160 pounds, with chin-length dreadlocks. He loves being outside, especially playing basketball.

Anyone who sees him is asked to call 911. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call 708-665-1390. There is a reward for his safe return.

"Chance, please come home," family said on a missing persons poster. "We love you and miss you."