CHICAGO — It’s been nearly a week since Rev. Warren Beard, an assistant pastor at New Israelite Missionary Baptist Church in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, was last seen in Joliet.
His disappearance continues to confound both Chicago and Joliet police.
Beard was last seen on Tuesday night, July 2, at around 9 p.m., as he left a gathering of friends in Joliet. Chicago police have told Beard’s family that his black Honda HR-V was spotted about 90 minutes later, still in Joliet, by a plate-reader camera at the intersection of Jefferson Street and Larkin Avenue.
In addition to his role at New Israelite Missionary Baptist Church, Beard is also a director for the Preservation of Affordable Housing, a Chicago non-profit.
Family and friends gathered at Beard’s church on Monday, asking for help to find him.
“This is so unlike him,” Pastor Chenier Alston of New Israelite Missionary Baptist Church said. “We can’t even believe this is happening. We just can’t even understand it right now.
“It’s hard to even talk about, because we just want him home. We just want him here.”
Beard is 53 years old and is 6-foot, 220 pounds, with a shaved head.
Anyone with information on Beard’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or CPD Area Two Detectives.