Police search for missing paper carriers

Family worried: No word from mother and two children

 Three veteran Herald News carriers disappeared Sunday morning, apparently near the end of their route, leaving family waiting anxiously for any word or sign of their whereabouts.

"She left at 2 a.m. to pick up the papers, I locked the door behind her and said, 'See you in the morning,'" Wayne Bockhol, 30, said of the last time he laid eyes on his mother, Karen, 49, sister Tracy, 26, and brother Thomas, 23.

The Bockhols arrived at The Herald News distribution center on Caterpillar Drive shortly after 2 a.m., then set out on their route in Karen's white 1989 Dodge Caravan with the license plate "BEANA 8" about three hours later.

Wayne Bockhol said his mother and siblings usually return home from work about 7:30 a.m. When they failed to do so Sunday, he grew worried and contacted Herald News circulation.

He was told there was no delay in delivery, then tried calling his mother on her cell phone. He only reached the voice mailbox.

He paged her repeatedly but got no calls back, he said, so he alerted police. Officers took a report on the missing family members about 11 a.m.

"We're putting out circulars to saturate the neighborhood and see if anyone's seen anything," said Joliet police Cmdr. James Grace. "The more information we can get out with the public, the better chance we have of locating the van and finding out what happened here."

Detectives also interviewed relatives of the missing mother and her children Sunday.

"The quicker you get on it, the hotter the leads," Grace said.

Friend and fellow-carrier Audrey Bopp was shocked and frightened by the prospect of the missing family.

"That route was her (Karen's) whole life," Bopp said. "She would never walk away from it and just get up and go."

In addition to her route, Karen held dear her 4-year-old godchild, Sabrina. Karen has cared for Sabrina since the young girl was an infant, Wayne Bockhol said.

"She has a little girl at home," Bopp said. "That's her whole life."

The Bockhols have delivered the Herald News for 23 years, winning the coveted Loretta Heeg Carrier of the Month award twice. No other carriers have won more than once.

The Bockhol family delivered to homes from Western Avenue to Ruby Street and from Wilcox to Bluff streets.

Bopp's route covers a nearby neighborhood. She told of the dangers involved in delivering newspapers in the early morning darkness.

"I've had problems along with her," Bopp said, such as people accosting her on the job, threatening her, trying to steal her van, and the time she happened upon a man shortly after he had been stabbed by his girlfriend.

"They were bagging him," Bopp said.

"You've got the gangbangers out, you've got the drug deals," she said. "I just go the other way, it's just, leave me alone."

The Bockhols apparently delivered all of their route except for one block of Marble Street and a house on Stone Street, where they live, said Wayne Bockhol.

The Herald News started getting calls about 8:35 a.m. from customers and received four calls in all.

James Tezak, vice president of consumer marketing for Fox Valley Publications, parent company of The Herald News, said newspaper carriers work as independent contractors and are not employees or obligated to report in after the completion of their routes. Still, he said, "We are very concerned about carrier safety."

"While I don't personally know the Bockhols, I've heard fine things about their long service to The Herald News," said Randy Chapman, Herald News publisher. "I am very concerned about this situation and hope that the news we learn is quick and positive."

Bopp also was concerned for the safety of her missing friends.

But even with the Bockhols' disappearance weighing heavily on her mind, Bopp planned to go in and pick up the papers for her route early this morning.

"Yeah, I have to," she said, "or I won't have a job."