Left and Center: Sarah circa, 1981
Right: Age Progressed to age 38
Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance
Missing Since: July 21, 1981
Missing From: Joliet Township, Will County, Illinois
Classification: Non-Family Abduction
Date Of Birth: January 6, 1975
Age: 6 years old
Height and Weight: 4’0″ and 45 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian Female, Blonde hair, Brown eyes
Clothing/Jewelry Description: A Joliet District soccer shirt, blue/red/white colored jogging pants, and blue sneakers with a white stripe
NCMEC Number: 600166
Details of Disappearance
Sarah was last seen in Joliet, Illinois on July 21st 1981. She lived with her family in a residence on Oscar Avenue at the time. She was playing with her five year old sister, Marie and some friends at the end of Richards Street. At one point, Sarah and one of her playmates got into a fight over whose turn it was to use a trackball wicket but her mood about the whole thing passed quickly and she was back to playing.
Sarah as well as Marie came in and out of the house frequently throughout the evening to use the bathroom or get a drink of water. Eventually, the girls were told to either stay inside or go back outside and stay. The girls chose to go outside and play until they were told to come back inside for the night. Sarah was never seen or heard from again afterward.
At 8:30 pm, her mother pulled a cake out of the oven and thought about calling the girls in to have some but she remembered they had brought little jars to catch fire flies and knew they only really be seen after twilight so she decided to let them stay out a little while longer to catch them.
The owner of the 7-11 Bar located near Oscar Avenue saw Sarah still playing with other children at the same moment her mom pulled the cake out. At 8:50 pm, Sarah’s mother cut two slices of cake for both the girls and called their names for them to come inside and Marie came in but Sarah didn’t. Marie said that she assumed Sarah had come home already because she hadn’t seen her in a little while.
Sarah’s mother and stepfather searched the neighborhood with neighbors but were unable to find any sign of the youngster. Sarah’s family reported her missing at 9:10 pm that night. Extensive searches of her neighborhood and surrounding areas turned up no trace of Sarah. A quarry was also dragged in search of Sarah but nothing was found.
Police investigated Sarah’s mother, Jame Hellinger and her stepfather, Francis Hellinger. They also investigated Sarah’s biological father, Charles “Chuck” Avon. There was animosity between both Francis and Chuck prior to Sarah’s disappearance and after. Chuck accused Francis of being involved in her disappearance but Francis denied this.
There was no history of child abuse in the Hellinger home and by all accounts the girls had a happy home life. They visited Chuck the weekend before Sarah’s disappearance and had a great time while with him. All three passed polygraph exams and are not suspects in the case.
It’s strongly believed that Sarah was abducted by someone she knew in the Joliet area and was murdered shortly afterward. Investigators have reason to believe she was still alive as late as 10:30 pm on the night of her disappearance but this hasn’t been confirmed.
On January 7th 1985, David R. Collins was arrested in Providence, Rhode Island for the sexual assault of a thirteen year old boy whom he kidnapped from Long Beach, California. After his arrest, investigators searched his apartment and located 26 photos of unidentified children. One of them depicted a girl who physically resembled Sarah.
Chuck viewed the photograph in question and said he thought it indeed looked like his missing daughter. However, he was unable to positively identify the girl as being her. Eventually, it was found not be her. Many of the photos were later found to be of individuals who hadn’t been reported missing. Authorities do not believe that Collins had anything to do with Avon’s disappearance or any other missing children cases.
On January 25th 1993, a former neighbor of the family, Ernest Wilson Sr., died in Arkansas. He and his family lived on Miller Street in Joliet, this was two miles away from Avon’s neighborhood. Wilson’s children sometimes babysat for Sarah and he was acquainted with her family at the time of her 1981 disappearance.
After he died, his nephew, Robert Tadej summoned authorities and told them that Wilson had made a “deathbed revelation” in connection to Sarah’s disappearance. Wilson drew a triangular shape with a circle in it on a piece of paper. This drawing stuck out to the family because it resembles the triangular shaped lot that the family home once stood in Joliet.
Wilson’s son and another boy allegedly implicated themselves in Sarah’s murder. His son was fifteen years old and was considered mentally disturbed. Tadej said that when he had a conversation with the nephew, he admitted to sexually molesting Sarah on the night she disappeared. He also said he was in the house when Sarah was killed but went upstairs when it happened.
Tadej believes that Wilson found Sarah slain so he buried her body on their property so that he could protect his son. A man came forward after the death bed revelation and stated he may have witnessed Wilson burying Sarah’s remains at the time. The witness was a teenager in 1981 and a neighbor of Wilson. He reportedly went outside during the night to see Wilson digging a large, deep hole with a shovel.
The hole was deep until Wilson’s chest was not visible. The witness actually asked Wilson why he was digging the hole in the first place and he responded by saying that he planned to transplant sunflower seeds to that location. The witness said he had seen Wilson on one other occasion digging or operating in his backyard during the nights after Sarah’s disappearance.
This time, Wilson was using his bulldozer and was seen pushing mounds of dirt near Hickory Creek and was also knocking over trees at the junction of Hickory Creek and Spring Creek. Later on, the Wilsons reportedly moved their above ground swimming pool near the location where he used the bulldozer to pile up dirt.
After getting this information, investigators excavated the vacant lot. While the initial search did not yield anything, an official involved in the search believes that the area they dug up was too small for them to be absolutely sure that Sarah’s remains weren’t located on the lot.
The man who saw Wilson digging was quoted as saying the hole was chest deep and thought authorities were not excavating deep enough during the search. The man brought this up to them but they paid no attention to his statements. Sarah’s body was not found in the area and there’s no evidence her remains wet ever there. It’s unclear if there will be any further excavations to follow.
Authorities continue to keep the case open and have searched relentlessly for her. In 2004, authorities dug underneath an old garage on Noel Road which was south of Joliet. Authorities were hoping to locate Sarah’s remains during the excavation but only unearthed clothing and no evidence relating to Sarah’s disappearance.
In 2020, investigators revealed that they had a strong person of interest in Sarah’s presumed death. The man was identified as William R. “Billy” Redden who was a convicted child molester. In 1971, he was convicted of sexual battery against a 19 month old child. He served more than three years for the crime at the Menard Correctional Center before being released in May of 1975.
Redden was a family member as he was a cousin of Sarah’s father. He lived approximately two minutes away from her home in 1981 and was a regular visitor. He lived in an older two story house in the 200 block of Reichman Street with his mother at the time of Sarah’s presumed abduction. He was said to drive an older model pickup truck.
After it became apparent that Sarah was abducted, multiple neighborhood residents felt it was Redden who had committed the crime. They noted how weird he acted and many elected to stay away from him due to his odd and creepy behavior. Sarah’s former babysitter had a teenage daughter who worked a newspaper route in the area and was said to always be scared to deliver papers or pick up payment from Redden’s residence. He would allegedly say inappropriate comments to her.
Police did question him about Sarah’s case in 1981 and performed a cursory investigation of his home with his consent but didn’t find anything to indicate he was involved in her disappearance. He was never arrested or charged in the case either. Redden passed away in 2010 at the age of 69. In May of 2019, investigators searched his home again and excavated the crawlspace for Sarah’s body but didn’t find anything.
Sarah’s neighbors believe her remains might be buried somewhere on the property of Redden’s Reichman home that he resided in when the child vanished. However it’s unclear if any excavations of the surrounding areas have been completed. Investigators also searched a 2-acre property on Noel Road in unincorporated Jackson Township in October of 2019. The property was owned by Redden up until the mid-1990s. The search turned up no trace of Sarah.
The sheriff’s office has pleaded to the general public for any information about Redden from the time of Sarah’s abduction in 1981. They hope to positively link him to the case and hopefully locate her remains as well to give her family some concrete evidence.
At the time of her disappearance, Sarah was described as acting older than her actual age and was known to talk to the adults she knew around the neighborhood. She was said to be friendly as well. Sarah’s abduction changed her neighborhood and many felt unsafe letting their children play or explore leisurely after it happened. Many of Sarah’s old neighbors still live in the neighborhood and hope for her case to be solved.
Sarah’s disappearance remains unsolved and foul play is highly suspected. Her family moved away from the area some years after she disappeared but they are in constant contact with the police investigating her disappearance and hope for a resolution.
Investigating Agency
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Will County Sheriffs Office 815-727-8574
Source Information
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Southern Illinoisan 01/17/1985