New Lenox Woman Goes Missing In Iowa

NEW LENOX, IL - A young woman who was on her way home to New Lenox has disappeared and authorities in Iowa are investigating. Tiana Berkey, 24, was last seen at the Walmart Supercenter in Keokuk, Iowa, around 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 5. She has not been seen since.

Keokuk is located along the Mississippi River in southeastern Iowa. It's also about 65 miles north of Hannibal, Missouri.

Patch interviewed Berkey's older sister by phone on Friday night. She said that her sister was driving a car with Arizona license plates and that family are trying to track down the license plates number to publicize. Berkey grew up in Manhattan and moved to New Lenox when she was about 10, the sister said. She was in the process of moving back to New Lenox from Arizona.

Update: Missing Woman Found

She had stopped at the Walmart to purchase a new cellular phone and withdraw some money, her sister said. It's a four-hour drive from Keokuk to New Lenox, the sister said. Most of her travels would have placed her on I-80.

But nobody in the family, including her boyfriend, has heard from her, the sister said.

The family has called numerous hospitals and none of them had admitted Berkey as a patient.

The sister said that the family tried to call Tiana's phone and someone immediately picked up. There was silence but the family said they could hear Tiana's voice, mumbling something, in the background.

The person who answered the call, hung up the phone within about three seconds, the sister told Joliet Patch Friday night. She believes the person may have realized they made a mistake by answering the call.

"We think something suspicious must have happened," the sister said. "There was no hello, it was about three seconds, then a click."

Northern Illinois Fire Ground photos posted a missing person's flyer around 5 p.m. Friday and reached out to Patch in hopes of drawing more awareness and attention to Berkey's case.

The flyer for the missing woman indicates that she drives a 2011 Dodge Charger that is white with a black hood and black rims. She was apparently going to travel from Keokuk, Iowa to her home in the New Lenox area, the flyer states.

"She did not arrive, and has not contacted family or close friends," the poster reads.

Image provided to Patch via Northern Illinois FireGround Photos