Wendy Gessing's Boyfriend: 'I Hope It's Not A Homicide'

CREST HILL, IL — Missing Crest Hill resident Wendy Gessing has not made any calls to her loved ones during the past year. Her credit cards have not been used. Nobody in the Joliet area has seen her since she vanished while working at the Pizzas By Marchelloni restaurant on North Raynor Avenue, owned and operated by her long-time boyfriend.

The 50-year-old Gessing disappeared on a Saturday, June 12, 2021. The Crest Hill Police Department, led by Police Chief Ed Clark and lead detective Conor Sweeney, has remained unsuccessful in its attempt to find her and solve one of Will County's biggest missing person mysteries in recent years.

Joliet Patch left a voice mail message last week with Chief Clark, but he did not call back.

"They tell me they've got a couple of leads," remarked Scott Harris, who has been the boyfriend of Gessing for about 14 years. Detective Sweeney "tells me it's still good we haven't found a body," Harris added.

The couple lived together at a house on Hosmer Drive, just a few blocks away from their Pizzas By Marchelloni takeout and delivery restaurant near the corner of Theodore Street and Raynor.

Could Bracelet Belong To Gessing?

During a recent visit to his house, Harris said a Crest Hill detective "showed me a couple of pictures" in hopes of determining whether the items belonged to Gessing.

"I thought one of them could be," Harris said, referring to a bracelet the police showed him.

"They said it's a very active case on their end, even though it's been almost been a year," Harris said.

He thought the other items may have been sunglasses or clothes worn by someone much younger. He was positive that the other items did not belong to Gessing.

Joliet Patch asked Harris about the significance of Gessing's disappearance and the fact that an entire year has now passed without any answers.

"It's already starting to be hard thinking about it," Harris said.

The most important thing "after a year, is just keeping the word out," Harris said. "I had someone put up more posters back in April. People still come into the pizza store hoping she'll be found."

Car, Phone Found In Different Towns

On June 12, 2021, Harris told Joliet Patch he worked that Saturday morning and left-mid afternoon at his pizza restaurant. He said that Gessing started work around 4 p.m. He said he went to the Lockport Moose Lodge to socialize with friends.

At his pizza place, he said there was a college student working for him that day making the pizza deliveries, as well as a man in his early 60s named John, who has since died after having heart problems late last year.

Harris said it's his understanding that Gessing left work at one point to drop off magazines and clothes to a family that received help through one of the food pantries. After returning to work, Gessing supposedly told John, her coworker, that she was leaving again, to give someone a ride somewhere, according to Harris.

"I don't know who," Harris told Joliet Patch. "I have no idea where she went."

Gessing Left Work, Never Returned

According to Harris, John had suggested she not go out to give the man a ride, but she left anyway.

"Well, we didn't know these people," Harris said.

When Gessing did not return home from work that Saturday night, Harris said, "I called her phone, 'Where are you at?' and nobody answered her phone."

Harris said he fell sleep and when he awoke on Sunday, June 13, 2021, "She still wasn't there."

Harris said he initially called the Joliet Police Department in connection with his girlfriend's disappearance. "I don't remember why," he said.

Eventually, Harris reported her missing to the Crest Hill Police Department. In the coming days, Gessing's gray Honda CRF was found on Joliet's near west side, parked in the 400 block of Buell Avenue, near Western Avenue.

A year later, the vehicle remains impounded as part of the police investigation, Harris said.

"I don't think they found any fingerprints at all," Harris said.

As for her cell phone, it was found in the Romeoville area along Taylor Road in a parking lot for a warehouse, Harris said.

Harris said that Gessing has a sister who lives in the Coal City area and a brother who lives near Las Vegas. Her mother is now living at a nursing home in Morris, he said. She has one adult child, a son, Josh, who lives in the Joliet area and is in his 20s.

"I hope it's not a homicide," Harris said Friday. "I hope she's still alive."

Harris told Patch that he put up a $5,000 reward for information that leads to finding Gessing. Her family also created a reward, offering $2,000.

Harris said those rewards still remain available.

"It's just very strange for me after all this time that nobody came forward," Harris said, referring to the rewards. "I just hope that people don't forget about her."

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Wendy Gessing Missing 6 Months: Crest Hill Police Have No Updates
Buell Ave. Remains Big Part Of Wendy Gessing Mystery
Was Missing Person Wendy Gessing Really At Motel 6 In Joliet?
Wendy Gessing's Boyfriend Waits For Answers From Police