Missing Morris woman found in North Chicago

MORRIS – A Morris woman who was reported missing was found Tuesday morning in North Chicago and has been reunited with her family.

Stacey Ammons, 31, was last seen July 27, when Morris police dropped her off at the Walmart in Morris at her request. Walmart surveillance video showed that Ammons bought a hard case suitcase, and her credit card showed a charge with Uber. Uber verified that Ammons was picked up at Walmart at 9:30 a.m. and dropped off at the Metra train station in Joliet at 10 a.m.

The last purchase on Ammons’ debit card was at Franklin’s Tap in Chicago. Her new suitcase and cellphone were found in front of Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) at a bus stop July 27. She also had bought an Amtrak train ticket to Dearborn, Michigan, but never boarded the train.

The Morris Police Department posted this information, along with a current photo, on its Facebook page.

On Tuesday morning, the Facebook page had an update stating that Ammons had been found in North Chicago and was reunited with her family in Michigan.

“When this all started, it didn’t seem like it would end well,” Morris Detective Curt Kneller said. “With all the stories you hear about human trafficking lately, and then to have her suitcase and cellphone found abandoned, it just didn’t look like a good situation.”

Kneller said Ammons had been asked to leave the residence where she was staying in Morris, and that was when she called the police for a ride to Walmart. He said that she told the officer she planned to buy a suitcase and go to Colorado Springs.

“She had a clear plan, so our officer dropped her off at Walmart,” Kneller said. “We had photos of her in Walmart, then she called an Uber and Uber confirmed that they picked her up and drove her to the bus station in Joliet.

“She ended up in Northwestern Hospital in Chicago, but we didn’t get any information from them. Apparently, they released her and she didn’t have any shoes, so she went to a mission nearby and got some shoes and someone there was able to get her into a hotel room. When she was in the hotel room, she saw herself on one of the Chicago news stations and called her mom to come pick her up.”

Kneller said he was thankful that the case did not have a dismal end.

“We weren’t too hopeful,” he said. “A stranger had found her suitcase and cellphone and called her mother, who was the emergency contact on the cellphone. Her mother then reported her missing. It was really her being on the Chicago news stations that got this solved. It’s nice when we can all work together, and this ended up with a happy ending.”