Parents Offer $10,000 Reward For Safe Return of Missing Son

The parents of a 27-year-old Chicago man missing since Oct. 30 hired a private detective and are offering a $10,000 reward for the safe return of their son.

It has been a week since John Cunningham Jr. walked out of his parents’ home in Palos Park and seemingly vanished. Cunningham Jr. was wearing only a T-shirt and sweatpants when he told his mother he was “going to meet God.” He is now considered a missing, endangered adult.

Cunningham Jr. was not wearing shoes when he left the house, nor did he take his wallet and cell phone with him when he was last seen around 10:45 a.m. Oct. 30, near 104th Avenue and McCarthy Road. Last week’s extensive ground and air search of the Palos forest preserves did not turn up any trace of the young man and has since been scaled back.

Now, new details have emerged of John Cunningham Jr.’s last morning at his parents’ home, where he had been visiting from his apartment in Chicago’s North Side Lake View neighborhood.

“There have been sightings but nothing concrete,” Chicago private investigator Paul Ciolino said. “Bottom line is John had some kind of breakdown. What he’s doing is totally out of character for him. We’re really worried about him.”

Cunningham Jr. was reportedly seen twice on Harlem Avenue in Worth last Saturday, near 119th and 115th streets.

Ciolino was hired by John Jr.’s parents to reinvigorate the search. New fliers have been produced and the young man’s friends have set up a “Find John Cunningham” Facebook page.

Cunningham Jr. grew up in Evergreen Park and Palos Park, and graduated from Marist High School. He is a devout Catholic and very much opposed to abortion. He is a licensed attorney and works for a New York-based finance company, raising capital for multimillion-dollar projects.

He had also recently talked a female friend into keeping her baby after she became pregnant, and he pledged his financial support to both even though the baby was not his child.

The morning he went missing, he told his boss over the phone he was quitting his job, Ciolino said.

“Right before he told his boss he was quitting, he said didn’t want to be a lawyer anymore. He told him that he wanted to take care of his friend and child, and write a book about anti-abortion,” the private detective said. “This all happened five minutes before he walked out the door. It was very bizarre. He wasn’t drinking and didn’t use drugs. He just went off the deep end.”

Cunningham Jr.’s father believes that his son is on a “spiritual quest” and may have gotten shoes and a jacket from a homeless shelter. Police also have searched Cunningham Jr.’s Lake View apartment where he lived alone.

“He’s not a materialistic person, he doesn’t care about money or clothes or stuff,” Ciolino said. “He cares about relationships, feelings, he’s deeply religious.”

Ciolino believes Cunningham Jr. is still alive. He may already have a heavy beard since his disappearance a week ago.

“He may not know who he is at the moment. He’s not dangerous,” the private detective said. “It’s like dealing with someone who has Alzheimer’s.”

Anyone with information about John Cunningham Jr.’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Cook County Sheriff at 708-865-8397 or private investigator Paul Ciolino at 847-736-8397 or pciolino@pjcinvestigations.com, or call 911.

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