Joliet man’s family seeks answers on his disappearance in La Salle County

Questions remain in the case of a Joliet man who has been missing for more than a month after his vehicle was found in a remote location in La Salle County, more than 60 miles from his home.

Amos Morgan, 63, was last seen in the Streator area May 10, and his vehicle was found in the Otter Creek Township area about 6 p.m. May 25, the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office has said. His wife, Camille Morgan, also of Joliet, reported him missing May 12.

Information on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System differs from what the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office and Morgan’s family said is known.

NamUS is the national database that law enforcement and other missing person’s agencies use to inform the public and other law enforcement agencies of information in these cases. Differing information can be misleading. State law requires law enforcement to input information into this database.

La Salle County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Investigator Josh McGrath said Amos Morgan was last seen driving a tan 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The vehicle was observed in a photograph in Ottawa at 5:12 a.m. May 10, which is not provided in the NamUS report for Amos Morgan.

Amos Morgan is missing out of Joliet and last seen by people in Streator. This information also is listed differently on the NamUS report.

Sgt. Dwayne English of the Joliet Police Department said information has been passed on to Joliet police detectives for their review, but the information has not been edited as of Friday afternoon.

Morgan’s family said the days leading up to his disappearance were no different from any other. He drove from Joliet to Streator to meet his son-in-law and head to work together.

Astasia Norris, Amos Morgan’s stepdaughter, said he was working with his son-in-law in Decatur “fixing up homes.”

“He was supposed to call me later that day, but he didn’t,” Camille Morgan said. “I didn’t notice it then because he knows I drive all day, so he may not call. But we were supposed to meet up the next day, Tuesday, because we were supposed to get him a phone, and he didn’t call that day.”

That’s when the Morgan family knew something was wrong, members said.

His wife said she last saw her husband Sunday, May 7, after a full day of activities. They both worked Monday, and she said it was not unusual for them to go a day without speaking because of their work schedules.

She said she was supposed to meet up with her husband Tuesday to buy a new phone because his phone had not been working properly.

When he didn’t show and she didn’t receive a call Wednesday morning, she called her son-in-law to see if he had seen or spoken to him. He hadn’t, Camille Morgan said. She also noted that her husband has some health issues.

La Salle County Sheriff Adam Diss said his officers have kept in contact with family members.

The La Salle County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that multiple searches of the area have been conducted with the assistance of multiple agencies, including the La Salle County Emergency Management Agency, the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, Illinois State Police Air Operations, Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services and the Peru Fire Department.

These searches included the use of ground search personnel, K-9 tracking dogs, drones and a plane from the Illinois State Police Air Operations.

The sheriff’s office has not disclosed the exact location of where the vehicle was found or anything about the condition of the vehicle after it was found.

Camille Morgan and Norris are working on assembling a search party and are asking for the public’s help in getting started.

“We’ve never had to do anything like this before,” Norris said. “We are kind of lost on how to get this done. We do have people trying to help us, but it hasn’t gotten done because we don’t know how to get it started.”

Anyone who has any information on how to coordinate a search party or who would like to volunteer is asked to call Camille Morgan at 815-985-3472 or Norris at 815-210-4725.

If anyone has information on the whereabouts of Amos Morgan, call the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office at 815-433-2161 or the Joliet Police Department at 815-724-3100.

“He loves to fish,” Norris said. “He loves his family. He’s a giver. He has so many family and friends that love him. We just need everybody’s help. He wouldn’t go this long without contacting anyone. We just want to know what happened, good or bad.”