Sarah Avon Disappearance: Joliet Person Of Interest Revealed

JOLIET, IL — On the 39th anniversary of 6-year-old Sarah Avon's disappearance from her front yard on Joliet's Oscar Avenue, near Richards Street, the Will County Sheriff's Office announced a person of interest in the case: William R. Redden, a Joliet resident, who is now deceased.

"Sarah's disappearance shocked the conscience of local Will County residents and the nation at that time," Will County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Dan Jungles said Tuesday morning. "The Will County Sheriff's Office has maintained activity on this case from the inception and has tracked down a multitude of leads over the course of 39 years, all of which have yet to produce any viable evidence."

On the anniversary of Sarah's disappearance, the Will County Sheriff's Office said it is providing an update to the residents of Will County and publicly honoring those who assisted the Will County Sheriff's Office recently in this investigation.

"Since Sarah's disappearance, unfortunate claims, stories in the media, discreditable misinformation and urban legends have over time been retold as fact and evidence. All of which, have yielded no corroborative or supporting evidence to warrant such claims," Jungles stated. "When leads in cold cases diminish, it is common and best practice to completely review the case from the beginning. In the Sarah Avon case, this was done. After completing the review, numerous individuals were re-interviewed, scene re-assessments where conducted, an evidence audit was conducted, and modern forensic methods and technologies were reviewed for their applicability to this case."

In May 2019, in an effort to eliminate potential crime scenes, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said it obtained consent to search William R. Redden's former residence in Jackson Township. Members of the Will County Sheriff's Office excavated the crawl space of the home at that time, but no remains were discovered.

Redden died in 2010, and at one time he lived in Joliet on Reichman Street, which is the street directly behind Oscar Avenue, where Sarah Avon and her family lived in 1981. Police told Patch that Redden was a cousin of Sarah Avon's father.

Ferak Column: Is Sarah Avon Still Buried On Miller Ave?

"At the conclusion of this process, it was determined based on numerous interviews, information, and intelligence obtained that an original person of interest in this case remains at this time William R. Redden, now deceased," the Will County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday.

On Oct. 19, 2019, the Will County Sheriff's Office, with the assistance of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), began searching a 2-acre property on Noel Road in Unincorporated Jackson Township with the use of Ground Penetrating Radar.

Members of the Will County Sheriff's Office had been planning the excavation property for almost a year.

The sheriff's office, investigators from the NCMEC, and Dr. Jarrod Burks from Ohio Valley Archaeology Inc., who specializes in ground-penetrating radar technology, searched the property previously owned by Redden and his family in unincorporated Elwood, with the consent of the current property owner. The property was owned by the Redden family until the mid-1990s, police said.

Even though the search did not yield the remains of Sarah Avon, the Will County Sheriff's Office said it will pursue all future leads that are developed in this case.

"This investigation will remain open until Sarah Avon is found and closure brought to the family. The Will County Sheriff's Office will provide updates to the public to this case when there are any further developments," Jungles announced Tuesday.

At this stage, the sheriff's office said it is seeking the public's help, particularly "anyone having information pertaining to William R. Redden, of Joliet, around the time of the disappearance of Sarah Avon."

If you have information, contact detectives at 815-727-8574. You can also leave anonymous tips on the Will County Sheriff's website at www.willcosheriff.org/enforcement/submit-a-crime-tip. You can also contact Will County Crime Stoppers by telephone at 800-323-6734 or by computer at www.crimestoppersofwillcounty.org/submit-a-tip/.

The Will County Sheriff's Office also said in May that it planned to honor a Jackson Township family with the Will County Sheriff's Office Civilian Appreciation Award. This year' s Will County Sheriff's Office awards banquet had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis.

As mentioned earlier in this article, the Will County Sheriff’s Office had approached the Jackson Township family about excavating their property in reference to the Sarah Avon disappearance. The Civilian Appreciation Award will be given to the family, for their assistance, compassion, and determination in helping the Will County Sheriff's Office attempt to bring closure to this case, authorities announced Tuesday.