OSWEGO, Illinois (CBS) – The agony of the family because of the missing relative is now joined by disappointment.
Despite strong evidence to that effect Eddie GardnerThe 22-year-old became a victim of a crime, the investigation was stopped.
All tips can be related to a Hertz rental car. But CBS 2 political investigator Dana Kozlov found that Hertz and the police were just pointing fingers at each other.
“I’m suspended,” said Gardner’s mother, Sandy Johnson-Gardner of Oswego. “I don’t know what happened to my son. I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. ”
Johnson-Gardner has been in such torture in suspension for almost two months – since March 8. It was the last time she spoke to her 22-year-old son, who disappeared a few days later.
“It’s just that employment distracts me from the day, but the nights are hard,” she said.
But the Gardner family believes he was active, and until March 13 was still driving the Dodge Charger, which he rented from Hertz in Bolingbrook. His sister Jessica went to his phone magazine and said March 13 was the last time his phone was used.
She then went into the Waze Gardner app and saw the navigation history. This story revealed Gardner’s last known location on 131st Street and St. Lawrence Avenue on the far south side of Chicago.
Johnson-Gardner said she filed a missing person report in Oswego, where he had previously lived with her, and began sending an e-mail to Hertz.
“I asked them to track the car or report the stolen car, and Hertz did not answer,” she said.
Eddie Gardner’s tenant Dodge Charger then found himself in Hammond, Indiana, involved in the March 29 attack.
“On the floor lay an empty cartridge case and a receipt from the tire store from the day before,” said Sister Jessica Gardner.
Kozlov asked Oswego Deputy Police Chief Brad Delphi if he thought Eddie Gardner was a victim of obscene play.
“We are very concerned,” Delphi said. “There’s just a moment when his model of normal behavior has stopped.”
But even though Oswego police have now handled the damaged evidence charger, Delphi said they cannot submit evidence to the criminal lab until it is established that the crime was committed in their jurisdiction.
Johnson-Gardner said police told her Hertz said the stolen car would help. But a Hertz spokeswoman said police should make a formal request.
Delphi said Bolingbrook police would be responsible.
“At that time, Bolingbrook would have to investigate the crime, and then they could take appropriate steps in the investigation that they deem necessary,” Delphi said.
However, Bolingbrook Police Captain Anthony Columbus told us that Oswego would be the main police department. He said Oswego had never sought help from Bolingbrook – adding that the missing cases alone should be enough for Oswego to obtain a search warrant and provide evidence.
So where does this show leave Eddie Gardner’s mother and sister?
Stuck.
And so it will be until the police department or Hertz finally takes the next step.
Late Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Oswego police told Kozlova that based on the information she shared with them, they would now contact Hertz and Bolingbrook police.
