Palatine police taking new look at 27-year-old mystery
Twenty-seven years ago, Anthony “Tony” Klama spent a night hanging out and playing darts at a local sports bar before heading back to his home at a nearby Palatine apartment complex.
He hasn’t been seen since.
On Thursday, to mark this week’s 27th anniversary of Klama’s disappearance, Palatine police put out a renewed call for tips or any other assistance that might reignite their efforts to solve the mystery.
“We’re taking another look at the case, and reaching out to the public and anyone who might know more about it,” Deputy Police Chief David Brandwein said.
Authorities have said Klama spent the night of Nov. 5, 1998, hanging out at the now-closed Splinters Sports Pub near Rand and Hicks roads. Patrons said he left alone around 11:30 p.m., apparently to walk the few blocks to his home at the Fox Fire Apartments.
Witnesses later spotted him near a vehicle with an unknown male, described as either white or Hispanic, officials said. That’s the last known sighting of the 36-year-old, who was reported missing the next day when he didn’t show up to his job as a maintenance manager at the apartment complex.
Family members said they suspected foul play, but police at the time said there was no evidence of a crime.
Other than two $20 ATM withdrawals while he was at the bar, no transactions were made on Klama’s bank account after his disappearance, according to reporting at the time.
Three calls were made to his apartment from pay phones: one from a Shell gas station and two from a Dominick's Finer Foods on Dundee Road. However, video surveillance from the businesses turned up nothing of note.
The handset from his new cordless phone was missing, but Klama's car was found undisturbed in the apartment complex’s parking lot. Searches of the nearby Deer Grove Forest Preserve and checks at morgues and hospitals came up empty.
Police said Thursday they’re especially interested in hearing more from or about two “Good Samaritans” who mailed anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers in January 2014.
“They might have some additional details that could be significant to our case,” Brandwein told us. Detectives also hope to speak with a man seen playing darts with Klama the night he vanished, he added.
“We’re hoping to get some answers for Mr. Klama’s family.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Palatine Police Department at (847) 359-9000.
Remembering Sgt. Free
Funeral services will be held Friday morning for Elgin police Sgt. Rich Free, who died unexpectedly this week due to complications from an unspecified illness.
Free, 44, served as an Elgin police officer for more than 11 years, including as a member of the SWAT team and honor guard. A married father of two children, he died Sunday at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
On Thursday, Elgin Chief Ana Lalley publicly thanked the Kane County sheriff’s office, which assisted the department in answering calls Thursday evening so that EPD officers could attend a visitation service. Sheriff’s deputies will assist again during Free’s funeral.
The funeral will take place at 10 a.m. at St. Mary of the Annunciation in Mundelein. It can be viewed online at https://tinyurl.com/52ah47kt.
Addison update
A man accused of repeatedly opening fire on Addison police during a standoff last week, striking one officer in a protective vest, must undergo a psychological examination, a DuPage County judge has ruled.
Salvador Lozano, 45, will be evaluated for insanity and other mental-health issues, according to an order from DuPage County Judge Mia McPherson. Prosecutors requested the evaluation Tuesday, and Lozano’s attorneys agreed.
Lozano is accused of barricading himself inside his Addison home and shooting at police Oct. 30. He’s charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm at an officer, aggravated battery to a peace officer and unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon.
According to recent court filings, Lozano called police Oct. 28 to report that his estranged wife had kidnapped his teenage children and dogs. He called again Oct. 30, unhappy that police hadn’t retrieved his dogs.
A neighbor later noticed that Lozano was burning a “blue line” flag — the kind that usually symbolizes support for police — in the street in front of his home, documents state. When police arrived, they found the words “NO PIGS” spelled out in duct tape on the man’s front door. That and another anti-police message were also written on a box.
A friend later told police Lozano had ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms that morning, court documents state.
• Do you have a tip or a comment? Email us at copsandcrime@dailyherald.com.