Naman Shrestha
A single mother named Erica Thompson led a content life in Brookfield, Illinois, when she suddenly vanished in late September 2019. Her disappearance sent shockwaves across the entire community, especially her family and friends. After the authorities got involved, new trails of evidence came to light as her cell phone pinged in a whole different state after she went missing. All the intricate details of her disappearance and the search for her are explored in Investigation Discovery’s ‘Hunt for the Missing: Chicago The Last Message,’ which also features exclusive interviews with Erica’s loved ones and the officials working on the case.
Erica Thompson’s Cell Phone Data Placed Her Hundreds of Miles Away From Home
Born in the late 1960s, Erica Lynn Thompson lived alone in the 9200 block of Monroe Avenue in Brookfield, Illinois. She maintained a close-knit bond with her sister, Dana Thompson Kujawski, and son, Michael Russo. In late September 2019, Erica had reportedly recently gotten out of a two-year relationship. According to security footage, she went to the 8 Corners Veterans Memorial Circle in Brookfield, where she made a deposit at a nearby bank around 4:30 pm. The following day, she didn’t show up at work without informing her employer. When her son was unable to reach her over the next few days, he stopped by her house and noticed that her sliding glass door was wide open.
Per reports, Michael also observed that the air conditioner was on, and dirty dishes were left in the kitchen. Since Erica had surveillance cameras installed outside the residence, Michael went to review the footage of the past few days to find out what had transpired. However, he was shocked to discover that all the footage had been deleted from the system. Thus, on October 1, 2019, then-53-year-old Erica and her vehicle, a dark purple 2014 Nissan Juke, were reported missing. As the police became involved in the investigation, it was found that her phone, identification, purse, and house and car keys were also missing.
Upon checking her cell phone activity after her disappearance, the detectives discovered that it was last active on September 26 and had pinged in and around Springfield, Missouri, about 500 miles from her home. Later, on October 2, Erica’s missing cell phone was found in a ditch along a road in Springfield, near the area where it last pinged. During the investigation, two suburban task forces and the FBI were also involved in tracking her cellphone data. The authorities also used a sonar-equipped boat to search for the vehicles matching the dimensions of her missing Nissan Juke in the shipping canals. Although they found only one submerged vehicle with dimensions similar to Erica’s car, a diver confirmed it wasn’t hers.
Despite the Police’s Best Efforts, Erica Thompson is Yet to Be Found
In September 2020, the Brookfield Police Chief Edward Petrak released a statement regarding Erica Thompson’s case. It stated, “From the beginning, this was a case of a missing person with suspicious circumstances. We’ve handled it almost as if it was a homicide case. We’re still hopeful we can find her, and we’re going to keep working at this until the case is solved.” Erica’s sister, Dana Thompson Kujawski, was mentally exhausted by the whole situation but still hopeful of finding her missing sister.
As for Erica’s son, Michael Russo, he was also worried about saving her home in Brookfield, Illinois. To raise funds to pay property taxes and mortgage, he also created a GoFundMe page with a goal of $135,000. However, it didn’t gain much traction and has since been redacted. Nearly seven years later, there have been no new leads on Erica Thompson’s whereabouts, while her family and friends keep their hopes alive and count on the police to crack the case.
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