Why Was Elmhurst Missing Man Under Investigation?

Elmhurst IL

10 November, 2021

8:49 AM

Description

ELMHURST, IL — A few weeks after Elmhurst resident Jake Cefolia went missing last year, the Elmhurst Police Department informed Patch that it had been investigating him before his disappearance. The department has not revealed the nature of the investigation. Later, NBC 5 in Chicago reported that a warrant was executed at the airline executive's house in Elmhurst a day before he went missing, citing detectives' notes. More than two weeks ago, authorities announced that Cefolia's body was discovered in Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in Lemont, where his car was found shortly after he went missing in August 2020. After the recent news, Patch submitted a public records request for reports on the investigation of Cefolia before his disappearance. On Tuesday evening, the city said it had no records responsive to the request. When a public body provides such a response, that means it has no records whatsoever on the topic requested. That was hard to square with the fact that a TV station cited documents related to the same inquiry. Late Wednesday morning, the city emailed Patch, saying it had no records in the death investigation. However, it added, information on the criminal investigation is being denied pending the release of the coroner's report. While Cefolia was missing, Elmhurst police never released the 49-year-old's photo or an announcement that he was missing. Since Cefolia's body was found, no obituary for him has appeared online. His remains were found Oct. 22 in the 700-acre preserve, where several searches had been conducted. In September 2020, Patch obtained the Elmhurst police report about the Cefolia missing person case. It stated that he was getting drunk a lot and fantasized about going off the grid. At United Airlines, Cefolia was senior vice president of worldwide sales, leading more than 700 employees. Months ago, his name was removed from the roster of corporate executives. As of Wednesday, no one has replaced him in that position, according to United's online leadership roster.