Just before 7 p.m. on May 26, police responded to the intersection of Washington and Maple in Oak Park after a caller reported that an unknown male broke his Dodge Challenger’s window. Upon arrival, police saw a man standing near the rear of the damaged vehicle before walking toward a parked car on Maple and driving away with two passengers. Police found that the registration of the parked car matched that of a semi-truck and pursued the driver because they believed the vehicle was stolen. As the car drove away at high speed, police followed, watching as the car nearly hit vehicles at two different intersections. The car approached the intersection of Harlem Avenue and I-290 but was blocked by another car. The offending car reversed into the police car, then fled eastbound on I-290. Police lost the car as it drove north on Sacramento, but it was later discovered in Chicago. Police confirmed it was stolen out of Oak Brook and towed the car.
Missing person
On May 24, a woman came to the Forest Park Police Department to report her daughter as missing. According to the police report, the woman told officers that, at the end of April, her daughter was evicted from her residence on Adams Street and admitted to UChicago Medicine AdventHealth GlenOaks for her mental health. The woman said her daughter was discharged from the hospital, though she doesn’t know where she is now. She said that her daughter has a history of homelessness, and she would come to pick her up if she’s located.
Police were dispatched to Thomas Avenue on May 26 after someone reported a woman calling “please come get me.” According to the police report, officers had previously visited the address to look for two missing female juveniles out of Elmhurst. Upon arrival, police reported that they saw two young women matching the description of those who were missing run into the residence. Police followed them inside, due to a potential kidnapping. They handcuffed the two females, since they were combative and screaming at police. Also inside the residence was a man and his mother. At the police station, the two females told police they met the man on a dating app and denied any kind of abuse. The two girls were released to their mothers, and Elmhurst police were contacted.
Assist police
While on patrol May 24, police got a hit for a stolen vehicle out of Naperville that was travelling west down I-290. Police followed the car to Thornton’s gas station in Bellwood, where Forest Park, Bellwood and Maywood police boxed in the stolen vehicle with their cars. Forest Park police handcuffed the driver and two passengers. The driver told police he was on the way to return the car to the mother of his kids, and she allowed him to use the vehicle. Police contacted the woman, who owns the car and said she and the driver argued the day before, and he left in her car. She reported her car stolen but refused to sign complaints against him. The two passengers were released without incident and the driver was transported to the Naperville police station for processing.
Village ordinance violation
Police were dispatched to McDonald’s at the corner of Des Plaines Avenue and Madison Street for a bicycle theft on May 25. The caller told police that, while he was inside McDonald’s picking up a DoorDash order, a young man stole his bike, estimated to cost nearly $2,000. On security camera footage, police saw two men riding Divvy bikes, one of whom then got on the stolen bike and rode off. Police found the young man in the alley of the 500 block of Beloit, where his guardian met them. The young man said he abandoned the bike and didn’t know where it was, but his cousin told police its location, and they recovered it. The young man was cited with a village ordinance violation.
These items were obtained from Forest Park Police Department reports dated May 24 through May 26 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these reports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We report the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed physical description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.