16 Months Since Edward Gardner Was Last Seen, Search Continues: Oswego PD

OSWEGO, IL — It's been 16 months since Edward Garner, a Bolingbrook resident with family in Oswego, was last seen by his family. In an update Friday, police said they continue to look for him with the help of a large-scale K9 search.

Gardner, now 24 and described as being 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, was reported missing March 13, 2022.

The Oswego Police Department has since collaborated with nearly 30 agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Agency, in an attempt to locate Gardner.

Police said they have identified "additional associates" of Gardner's in hopes of speaking with them, but "a few have been murdered" and others did not cooperate when interviewed.

Police did not provide any additional details on the associates they say have been murdered or respond to Patch’s request for comment at the time of publication.

"Oswego Police continue to work towards furthering the investigation as opportunities and leads are available," officials said in a Friday news release.

Multi-agency searches have been conducted, including side sonar scans of the Chicago River. Officials said the most recent large-scale search happened in March, a year after Gardner's disappearance, when Oswego police and other law enforcement agencies searched nearly 170 acres of a Cook County forest preserve.

Gardner's family, who typically had daily contact with him, decided to report him missing after growing worried when he hadn't contacted family since early the previous day. An acquaintance later reported seeing him on the evening of March 13 in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood, Patch reported.

A couple of weeks after Gardner was reported missing, police said his rental car was determined to have been involved in a multi-car crash in Hammond, Indiana. The driver and passenger of the rental car, a 2021 white Dodge Charger with Florida license plates, were seen fleeing the crash, according to a news release from March 2022.

Police said that based on information obtained during the investigation of the crash, they don't believe Gardner was one of the occupants.

Officials continue to ask anyone with information about Gardner to contact the Oswego Police Department at 630-551-7300 or call 911. Information can also be reported anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 630-553-5999.