Katharina Buczek
In 2018, Tracie Bell was 54-years-old and living in Richton Park, Illinois. There, she resided in a condo on Pleasant Drive and worked as a secretary for the Cook County State Attorney’s Office – which was located at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on California Avenue and 26 Street in Chicago.
Tracie was the mother of an adult daughter and was diagnosed with two conditions – diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Both of which required her to receive weekly injections.
According to Tracie’s cousin, Ladonna Iverson, she was also a very dependable employee.
“It’s totally out of character for her not to report to work or even call,” Ladonna said.
So, when Tracie failed to arrive at work on March 5, 2018, and never called the Attorney’s Office to alert them of her absence, her coworkers were concerned and contacted the police to conduct a welfare check.
Authorities performed the welfare check on March 6, 2018. Upon arriving at Tracie’s condo in Richton Park, they discovered she was at home. And while she wasn’t injured, she appeared disoriented.
“When they found her, she seemed a little bit disoriented, so they called the paramedics, and they checked her blood sugar because she was recently diagnosed as a diabetic,” Ladonna recalled.
Tracie was reportedly cooperative during the welfare check and appeared “to be in the right frame of mind” when paramedics left her home.
Yet, two days later, on March 7, 2018, Tracie failed to show up for work again. Then, when authorities arrived to conduct another welfare check, she was nowhere to be found.
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