Missing Harley Rider Carl Gordon: Joliet's Ruby St. Stays Focus

JOLIET, IL — Carl Gordon vanished without a trace after visiting a Joliet building on Ruby Street to get his new Harley-Davidson motorcycle repaired on May 29, according to Gia Wright, president and founder of the Missing Persons Awareness Network.

Wright told Joliet Patch that Gordon purchased his Harley at a building on Ruby Street across from St. John the Baptist Cemetery. The building has five garage stalls in back of the property.

Wright said the investigation into Gordon's whereabouts has turned up no activity on his credit cards or bank account since Friday, May 29, when Gordon was last seen in Joliet. She said food was purchased on Gordon's credit card from the Pizza For U restaurant in Joliet and delivered to the Ruby Street building on the same night he disappeared.

Wright said that cell tower activity from T-Mobile put Gordon's smartphone within 100 meters of Trinity United Methodist Church, 301 Fairbanks Ave. in Joliet, around 11:20 p.m. on May 29. The church is 2.2 miles away from the Ruby Street building, on east side of Joliet in a residential neighborhood.

Then, more than three hours, T-Mobile records show that Gordon's phone pinged within a 300-meter radius of the St. John's Cemetery around 2:40 a.m. on Saturday, May 30. The cemetery is directly across the street from the building where Gordon was last seen.

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Wright believes there are two likely scenarios of what may have happened. One is that Gordon crashed his motorcycle during the two-hour ride back to Belvidere on the night he disappeared. Gordon lived in Boone County, Illinois, which is in the Rockford area.

The other scenario, Wright said, is that he may have met foul play in Joliet. Gordon's investigation is classified as an endangered missing person case, Wright said.

"I'm definitely hoping that the case gets transferred to either the Joliet Police Department or the Will County Sheriff's Department because that's where he was last seen," Wright told Joliet Patch on Tuesday. "His credit card and the pings from his phone, that's all Joliet."

On Tuesday morning, Joliet Patch called the Joliet Police Department and asked what the agency is doing to find Gordon, who has been missing for almost two weeks.

Joliet officer Olin Torkelson responded to Patch's inquiry in an email statement.

"The case is under investigation by the Boone County Sheriff's Office; they are the lead agency, as that's where the report was filed," Torkelson advised. "The Joliet Police Investigations Division is assisting Boone County with their investigation, but all media inquires about this case should be referred to Boone County, as they would be able to provide you with the best information on their case. At this time JPD is not issuing a press release either, as it is not our investigation."

Wright said her organization has been in regular contact with Boone County, Belvidere Police, Joliet Police and the Will County Sheriff's Office. "They have all been amicable, and they have all been responsive," she said. "I truly feel they are doing what they can."

Although he lived 90 miles away, Gordon was familiar with Joliet, having purchased his 2012 Harley-Davidson Roadster at the same building on Ruby Street where he went on May 29 to get it repaired, according to Wright.

"That's where he bought the bike and was getting it fixed for an oil leak," Wright said.

Wright said that Gordon's mother believes he has been to Joliet five to seven times, all related to his motorcycle.

"The fact that his phone never left Joliet makes his friends and family worry, and his mom is worried because she speaks to him every single day," Wright said. "He lives with his mother, and he's got three children."

The family has organized a GoFundMe called Find Carl Gordon to raise $3,000 to help with the investigation. The GoFundMe reminds people that Gordon was last seen in Joliet on Ruby Street.

Below is a 17-minute Facebook Live video provided to Joliet Patch by the Missing Person Awareness Network. It's from last Friday and shows several family and friends in Joliet trying to find Carl Gordon.

Gordon is a black man, 6 feet tall, weighing 200 to 220 pounds. He has a shaved head and a thick beard. People with information to help the police should Boone County Sheriff's Office at 815-544-9322.

Wright said that people can also call her organization to leave anonymous tips and leads at 312-620-0788.

Wright also stressed that people in the Ruby Street or Fairbanks Avenue areas of Joliet who may still have Ring, business or residential video surveillance cameras should check and see if they have any activity from the night of May 29 or morning of May 30.

If they do, Wright urges them call Boone County authorities.