If you have information regarding any of these cases, contact Will County Sheriff’s Office at 815-727-4738.
Submit an online tip to Will County Sheriff’s Office anonymously here,
call Will County Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734.
Cold Cases:
Will County, Illinois
Joan Yarbrough Bernal
If you have information about Joan Yarbrough Bernal, contact Sergeant Mike Earnest by email or call 815-727-8574, ext. 4943.
Anonymously report a tip on the Will County Sheriff’s Office website or call Will County Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734.
MISSING
Last seen in Joliet Township
Joan Bernal was last seen on December 9, 1988. Her husband, Gilbert T. Bernal, reported her missing on December 27, 1988. Gilbert stated he, his wife Joan, and their 2-year-old daughter Sarita, left the morning of December 10, 1988, to visit family in Edinburg, Texas, for the holidays. During the trip, Gilbert claimed they stopped around 10 pm the night of December 10 in McAlester, Oklahoma. Gilbert claimed Joan wanted to return home by bus since all her children couldn't be together for Christmas. Gilbert said he left Joan less than two blocks from the nearest bus station, and he and Sarita continued to Texas for the holidays.
Since December 9, 1988, there have been no credible sightings of Joan Bernal. She has not contacted any family members, including her three children: Alexander, Larissa, and Sarita. There has been no activity with her social security card.
Joan’s mother had her legally declared deceased in the late 1990s.
In 1993, Gilbert T. Bernal Sr. was arrested for the first-degree murder of his wife, Joan Bernal. Charges were dropped in 1994. The case was ultimately dismissed after four people claimed to see Joan Bernal alive after December 9, 1988.
In 2020, Joan and Gilbert's daughter Sarita contacted The Vanished Podcast about her mother's case. The show produced two episodes about Joan’s disappearance (“251 Joan Bernal Part 1” and “252: Joan Bernal Part 2”).
Joan’s case was also featured on Episode 2 of Season 8 of Cold Justice with Kelly Siegler.
In 2025, Gilbert T. Bernal was arrested for the first-degree murder of Joan Bernal. Gilbert T. Bernal Sr. is currently awaiting trial in the custody of Will County jail, Joliet, IL.
on December 9, 1988
Media
Curtis “Corky” Chandler
MISSING
Last seen in Lockport Township
on August 28, 1977
Fourteen-year-old Curtis “Corky” Chandler was last seen the night of August 28, 1977, leaving neighbor Bobbie Jackson’s home on Dundee Road with Bobbie’s boyfriend, 47-year-old Owen Clark. After Owen and Bobbie had an argument, Owen told her he was going for a ride in her car and he was taking Corky, however the two left on foot.
Early the next morning, Clark walked into the local fire station alone, with severe burns covering much of his body. Clark claimed while walking alone, a group of unknown men robbed him, doused him with flammable material, set him on fire, then sped off. He extinguished the fire by rolling on the grass, then walked to the fire department. He was taken to the hospital that night, and ultimately spent time at a burn unit for his injuries. Clark claimed to last see Corky around 11 pm the previous night and did not know his current whereabouts.
Authorities suspected Clark of foul play, however no confirmed resolution or conviction has been publicly documented. The case remains unsolved. Owen Clark is now deceased.
When last seen, Corky was 5’2,” weighed 134 pounds, had brown hair, and was wearing a blue t-shirt shirt, jeans, and red tennis shoes. He has blue eyes, an enlarged left ear, a scar under his hair on the left side, and an appendectomy scar on his abdomen.
Corky has never been found. If alive, Corky would be in his 60s today.
If you have information regarding the disappearance of Curtis “Corky” Chandler, contact Will County Sheriff’s Records Division at 815-727-4738.
Anonymously report a tip on the Will County Sheriff’s Office website or call Will County Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734.
Media
Media
Sema’j Lyric Malove Crosby
Joliet Township
Seventeen-month-old toddler Sema’j Crosby was reported missing from her home at 309 Louis Road on April 25, 2017. Her body was found underneath a couch inside her family home on April 27, 2017. The home was in deplorable, unsanitary conditions, with trash, pests, and clutter. Authorities wore hazmat suits due to the filth.
The Will County Coroner subsequently ruled Sema’j’s death a homicide by suffocation (asphyxia). Shortly after Sema’j’s body was found, the family home burned down under suspicious circumstances, potentially destroying evidence.
Sema’j’s family later settled a wrongful-death lawsuit for over $6.4 million against a private contractor for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), alleging negligence in protecting her.
No arrests have been made in connection with Sema’j’s death.
Investigators continue to treat it as an active case.
If you have information regarding this case, contact Will County Sheriff’s Records Division at 815-727-4738.
Anonymously report a tip on the Will County Sheriff’s Office website or call Will County Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734.
Christine Meadors
Homer Township
On the night of November 4, 1973, 15-year-old Lockport High School sophomore Christine Meadors was home and told her mother she was going to bed. The next morning her father returned from work and discovered Christine was missing. A window by the front door had been removed and the front door was unlocked. The phone line to her bedroom had been cut.
There were no solid leads at the time, and the missing person investigation quickly went cold. Rumors about satanic or cult involvement circulated but were later discounted by investigators.
About five months later, on April 16, 1974, Christine’s body was found inside a women’s outhouse in Messenger Woods Forest Preserve in Homer Glen. She was wearing the same clothes she had on the night she disappeared. Police suspected foul play because her body had been hidden, though initial examinations found no clear external trauma.
The case remains officially unsolved. Will County detectives have re-examined the investigation over the years, conducted dozens of interviews, and believe multiple people may have been involved—likely individuals she knew—though no charges have been filed. Investigators continue to seek tips that could lead to answers.
Media
If you have information regarding this case, contact Sergeant Mike Earnest by email or call 815-727-8574, ext. 4943.
Anonymously report a tip on the Will County Sheriff’s Office website or by calling Will County Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734.