9/11 artifacts donated to Inverness firehouse missing

John Klaas made a pilgrimage to ground zero just weeks after the 9/11 attacks.

The Barrington Hills man visited with survivors of the first ladder truck to arrive at the World Trade Center and was given access to restricted areas.

He returned not just with an experience he'd never forget, but with shirts and hats signed by surviving firefighters, bits of molten rubble from ground zero and even two pieces of steel beam from the trade center.

A year later, Klaas donated those items, along with photos he'd taken on the trip, to the Palatine Rural Fire Protection District.

Now no one seems to know what happened to those precious artifacts, and a police probe has been launched.

"It was a very moving experience being with these firefighters after the events of 9/11," Klaas said. "It seemed more appropriate to have a fire department keep these things than have them in my home."

In 2002, Klaas said he'd handed the memorabilia to a "very nice" firefighter with the understanding the items would be placed on display at the firehouse in Inverness.

But earlier this month, he happened to visit the station and asked about his 9/11 treasures.

According to the police report, Battalion Chief Jeff Dill told Klaas he had no knowledge of the artifacts or their whereabouts and that the firefighter Klaas gave them to now works for the Itasca Fire Department.

That firefighter couldn't be reached for comment.

Palatine Rural Fire District Chief Hank Clemmensen wouldn't say if anyone in the department knew about the artifacts but did confirm it was the department, not Klaas, who contacted police.

"It's still under (police) investigation so we can determine what the situation is," Clemmensen said.

Klaas had been invited on the New York trip because of his work with Klaas Kids Foundation, a group that works on behalf of child crime victims. It was established in memory of Polly Klaas, a 12-year-old California girl whose 1994 kidnapping and murder made national news. She was John Klaas' cousin.

Klaas said he's not pointing fingers and just hopes to find out what happened to those items.

"I'm certainly not accusing anyone of anything," he said. "I hope they weren't thrown out. I'd rather have had them sold on eBay than thrown out. At least I'd know someone has them who cares about them."

• Staff Writer Freida Gad contributed to this report.