Family anxious over missing Schaumburg man
The family of a 19-year-old Schaumburg man who went missing nine days ago in Indiana are reaching out through social networking sites and fliers for clues to his whereabouts.
When Kevin Heinl left his parents’ home in Schaumburg the afternoon of March 8, he supposedly was on his way to a new job at Rainforest Café at the Woodfield Shopping Center, said his brother, Chris Heinl of Streamwood.
Instead, the Conant High School graduate’s 2003 Honda Civic was found abandoned about 9 p.m. that night just north of Newtown, Ind., a small town about 35 miles east of Danville, Ill., by the Fountain County Sheriff’s police.
His cell phone was located four days later in the hands of a 14-year-old girl from Newtown, authorities said. The girl identified Kevin from a photograph as the man who approached on the street about 10:30 a.m. March 12, handed her a cell phone, then walked away. No one has seen him since.
Fountain County Sheriff Bill Sanders characterized the disappearance as “bizarre”
and said his entire department combed the area where Kevin’s car was found abandoned off Indiana Route 341.
“It’s a rural area,” Sanders said. “They’ve checked fields, bridges, abandoned barns, abandoned houses. We’ve looked everywhere and talked to a lot of the people in the towns in our area. (A stranger) cannot walk down any roads without people calling us to report it.”
Chris Heinl believes his brother was en route to Florida, as just two weeks before his disappearance he listed Miami as his hometown on his Facebook page.
“I don’t feel like he was running away from his friends and family,” Heinl said. “I think he just wanted to get out of here. The thing that’s concerning is that he has not made contact with anybody.”
Heinl said though Kevin had talked about “getting away,” it is uncharacteristic of him to not call his brother or close friends for help. He had never before disappeared for any period of time, he added.
“He’s a very dependent kid,” said Heinl, 30. “He’s never had a job before. He doesn’t know how to take care of himself by any means. He is very reliant on his friends and his parents.”
Kevin is not carrying any credit or debit cards, nor does he have any identification with him as his driver’s license was found in his abandoned car.
Family members are concerned that Kevin might suffer from bipolar disorder, though he has never been diagnosed with the illness. He was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder a few years ago.
“But there’s a family history of (bipolar disorder) and it comes on at this age,” Heinl said. “We’re fairly certain of it because of his behavior before he left. He was being a little bit erratic.”
Patients suffering from bipolar disorder often experience abrupt mood swings ranging from depression to mania.
Kevin was erratic and upset over a fight with his girlfriend the night before his disappearance, when he stayed over at a friend’s house, Heinl said. He sent conflicting text messages to his parents that night reading, “I can’t wait to start my new job” and “I’m taking off.”
No messages had been sent from Kevin’s cell phone nor were there any calls made after the afternoon of March 8.
Police in Indiana initially followed Kevin’s car on the night of March 8 after he passed the scene of an accident at a high speed.
Officers found the car abandoned a half mile north of Newtown, between a large cemetery and grain elevator, with its engine and windshield wiper blades still running and the driver side door left open.
“The car had gas in it,” Sanders said. “We didn’t know at the time whether someone had picked him up. Mechanically, his car didn’t just stop on him. Why did he just stop right there and just take off?”
Sanders initially suspected foul play, but now believes someone is providing the Schaumburg man food and shelter.
Anyone with information about Kevin’s whereabouts should call Fountain County Sheriff’s police at (765) 793-3545 or the Cook County Sheriff’s Office at (708) 865-4896.