Cheyann Klus

A beautiful young woman goes missing, and two weeks later, her phone is used to call 911 from the middle of a forest preserve – but the caller hangs up without speaking to the operator.

Cheyann Klus has been missing from Downers Grover, Illinois since November 29, 2017. She wasn’t reported missing until December 1, but her last phone activity was November 29. Her last contact came from a desperate slew of text messages and phone calls to her best friend Chad, begging him to come pick her up from her friend/lover Brian Biddle’s house. By the time Chad saw the messages, it was too late. No one ever heard from Cheyann again.

The call made from Cheyann’s cell phone was traced to the Mallard Lake Forest Preserve, about a 20 minute drive from Cheyann’s home and the home of Brian Biddle.

Most people in Cheyann’s life believe, or did believe, that Brian Biddle had something to do with her disappearance. However, authorities say that Biddle has been cooperative and instrumental in their investigation into her disappearance. If the investigators do believe Biddle is involved in the disappearance, they don’t have enough evidence to make an arrest. Biddle is currently in Cook County Jail for charges unrelated to Cheyann’s disappearance.

There are a few theories created by those who have been following this case from the beginning. First, did Cheyann leave on her own free will because she was depressed? Cheyann’s mother and dog passed away not long before her disappearance. According to her best friend Chad, she wasn’t the same happy-go-lucky girl after the loss of her mother. This theory implies that Cheyann disappeared to commit suicide, but it leaves a lot of holes. Why would Cheyann have called Chad to come get her if she was planning on running away? Also, why would a 911 call be made two weeks after the last time she was seen if she was going to disappear on purpose?

The second theory implies that Cheyann was taken away by force, and centers around who made that call from the Mallard Lake Forest Preserve. Did Cheyann make that call, but her captor ended the call before she could speak? Or, did the captor call from that location to throw off police and the search teams on her real location? After that 911 call, a large search party was organized to try to find Cheyann (or sadly, her body) inside the preserve. Bloodhounds were brought out to trace Cheyann’s scent to no avail.

The third major theory circles around who she ended up getting a ride from the night she tried to get a hold of Chad. She made the calls to Chad from Biddle’s house, but Biddle claims he woke up and she was not there anymore. He claims to have slept for 18 hours straight. This made a lot of people suspicious online, but unfortunately, it may be true if he was coming down from a strong drug like heroin or meth. If Cheyann wanted to desperately get out there, and couldn’t wake up Brian, she may have accepted a ride from someone else she knew that was at the party. Cheyann surrounded herself with drugs and drug abusers, and was arrested with a person who has multiple drug charges just over a month before she went missing.

This arrest and her friend group should not deter anyone from urgently looking for Cheyann. Those close to her do not believe that she disappeared on her own free will. They know that she would have contacted some of her friends or family if she could. She was not a flight risk at the time of her disappearance.

The investigation seems to have gone stagnant. With no new leads, the public has mostly given up hope of finding her alive. Her family still believes she may be out there and hasn’t stopped the efforts to bring her home. They are still actively working with police investigators and their own private investigator.

If you know anything about the whereabouts of Cheyann Klus, please contact the Dupage County Police at 312-620-0788.

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Missing People in the United States

Below is a list of important facts about missing people in the United States from the FBI:

The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) recorded 88,089 active missing persons cases in 2017.

46.6% of those missing persons cases are of juveniles under the age of 21.

52% of all missing persons are male.

African Americans make up 13% of the United States population, but they make up an overwhelming 33% of all missing persons.

Reports of missing persons have gone down by 24% since 2004.

There are currently 85 people in the FBI’s Most Wanted Kidnapping & Missing Persons list.

The FBI has four major initiatives to help protect missing and abducted children – those four are CARD (Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team – a group of experts that quickly respond to crimes against children during the critical first few hours after abduction), Endangered Child Alert Program (a proactive program that attempts to identify unknown adults who produce child pornography or are otherwise involved in the sexual abuse of children), Innocence Lost National Initiative (a task force dedicated to addressing the issue of domestic sex trafficking of children, and rescuing victims), and the Partnership with NCMEC (the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children shares valuable information about sexual exploitation’s of children through their hotline, which the FBI investigates).

Zaden McKnight

Two suspects, one body, and one missing boy in Dayton, Ohio.

The Facts

On March 25, 2014, Nichelle McKnight went to confront her ex-boyfriend Antwan Anderson about money that was being stolen from her by Anderson’s current girlfriend, Tonisha Harris. It is alleged that Anderson was instructing Harris to take money from McKnight’s Chase bank account, and using her credit card to rack up $3,000 worth of purchases at WalMarts in the nearby area. Nichelle went to confront Anderson and Harris at 23 Birchwood Ave, in Dayton, Ohio. Unfortunately, on that day, Nichelle also had her four year old son Zaden McKnight with her, and neither of them would be seen alive again.

Zaden McKnight has never received justice for his disappearance, and neither has his family. Nichelle McKnight’s body was found in Dayton, Ohio along Stillwater River just days after her disappearance. Once her body was found, there were massive volunteer searches coordinated by the family through their Facebook page, “Missing Child: Zaden McKnight.” The police also conducted their own investigations of the area near the Stillwater River and of the Birchwood Avenue home, to no avail. Bloodhounds were unable to pick up on a scent or trail leading to any new information about Zaden. Nichelle was believed to have been murdered by Anderson in the basement of Harris’ home on Birchwood Ave. However, we may never know for certain, as Anderson would never be found guilty of his alleged crimes.

On April 7, 2014, officers with the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) spotted Anderson leaving the home on Birchwood Ave. At this time, Anderson was their prime suspect. After an attempt to pull him over, a chase ensued, which led to an intoxicated Anderson committing suicide. With his death likely died the answers as to why Nichelle was murdered, and where Zaden is today. The family believed that they may receive answers from Tonisha Harris when she was arrested following Anderson’s suicide, but unfortunately those questions are still unanswered.

Tonisha Harris was found guilty of Tampering with Evidence (3rd Degree Felony) and Abuse of a Corpse (5th Degree Felony) on November 25, 2015. This conviction was due to the fact that blood and the shoes Zaden was wearing were found in her basement on Birchwood Ave. Harris was released from prison on August 26, 2018, and gets to live her days free as the family is still burdened with worry. To this day, Harris has adamantly denied knowing anything about the murder(s) that occured in her own home. She has yet to come forward to help Nichelle and Zaden’s family get closure.

Although investigators believe that Zaden is dead, his family is holding out hope that he will one day return home safely. They won’t accept his death unless his body is recovered. Nichelle was a retired Senior Airmen stationed at Wright Patt Air Force Base, and a hard-working single mother. She was a strong role model for her only son, and is missed dearly by everyone who knew her. The family won’t stop looking or holding out hope until they have answers.  

Where Could He Be?

If Zaden has passed away, his body could be somewhere in the Dayton, Ohio area. The most likely place would be somewhere near the Stillwater River, although we don’t know if his body was left someplace else. If Zaden is alive, he is nine years old now. He’s still young enough that he won’t look drastically different from his photos at four years old. It’s possible that he was given to someone else that Antwan Anderson or Tonisha Harris knew to be raised. If this is the case, it’s likely that the person raising him is someone who wouldn’t be questioned by having a new four year old boy in their home. This person could regularly be taking in children who have no place else to go, or parents unfit to raise them*.

*This is my own speculation. This opinion has not been shared by investigators in Zaden’s case.

What Can You Do?

If you know anything about the whereabouts of Zaden McKnight, please contact the Dayton Police Department at 937-333-2677 or the Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 937-222-7867.

About the Author + Just Missing

Hey there – I’m Madison. I’m going to be using this blog to write about (mostly unsolved) missing persons cases. I want to begin by making sure it is perfectly clear that I am not a journalist, police officer, or a person tied to any of these missing persons cases. Any information I present is either found from public records, social media, or from the family of the missing persons themselves.

I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice + Criminology, and a background in Child Protection. I’m writing about these missing people because I spend so much of my personal time researching them, and I figured I’d at least do the right thing and compile the information somewhere where it can be useful. I want to present stories of missing persons that aren’t presently getting a lot of media coverage. I’ll always provide a link to who can be contacted should you have any additional information that would be beneficial to helping the authorities.

Some of these stories can involve crazy circumstances, and not every person who goes missing was an innocent child. People are flawed, and so are investigations. I ask that if you decide to comment or share your opinions on any of the missing people presented on this blog (which I encourage), you remember that they have families who love them and miss them. If you went missing tomorrow, would you be proud of every decision you’ve made? Would you want those decisions to hinder an investigation?

I’ll be publishing about a new story weekly. Stay tuned, and thank you for reading.