Joliet Bartender Katie Kearns Is Missing, Friends Say

JOLIET, IL - A young woman who works as a bartender at Woody's Bar (1008 East Washington Street) has vanished, and many of her close friends are concerned about her safety. Several of them took to social media on Tuesday evening to spread public awareness and draw attention to the case of their missing friend, Katie Kearns.

It is unlike Kearns to go missing under these circumstances, they emphasized.

Her friends said the 24-year-old Mokena resident worked at Woody's in Joliet until about midnight on Sunday, but nobody has seen or heard from her since. She never made it home, her Jeep has not been located and she has no recent presence on social media.

In the hopes of drawing widespread attention to Kearns's disappearance, some friends of hers contacted the Joliet Police Department and reached out to Joliet Patch. (The number for the Joliet Police Department is (815) 724-3100).

"No one has seen or heard from her since Sunday after 12 a.m.," one of her close friends, Angela Brunette-Lowry, wrote to Patch. "She was a no-call, no-show from both of her jobs, Cafe Miele of Orland Park and Woody's of Joliet. Her phone goes right to voicemail. She has not been in contact with any friends or family and has not been on any social media."

Another friend provided Patch with this photo of the Jeep that Kearns was driving. It's a 1996 Grand Cherokee Laredo that's tan-gray with a Chicago Cubs World Series sticker on the back window.

Brunette-Lowry said Kearns, 24, lives at home with her father and sister.

Here are some other key features about the missing Joliet bartender: Kearns is 4-foot-11, weighs 90 to 100 pounds, has blue eyes and a warrior tattoo on her right forearm. Her Jeep also has not been located.