The STRANGEST Unsolved Mystery in Chicago | The Family That Vanished in Broad Daylight

Описание: THE THOMPSON FAMILY VANISHED: Chicago's Most Disturbing Unsolved Mystery | True Crime Documentary
On July 5th, 1996, an entire family disappeared from Chicago in broad daylight. Everett Thompson, his wife Lydia, and their two young sons—11-year-old Everett Jr. and 8-year-old Andrew—vanished without a trace after a frantic phone call about a man with an axe. Nearly 30 years later, their bodies have never been found, and this case remains one of the most frustrating unsolved disappearances in American history.
THE STORY:
Everett Thompson owned E.A.T. and Company restaurant in Chicago's Park Manor neighborhood. He and his wife Lydia were raising their two sons while pursuing the American Dream. But in February 1996, Lydia's brother Kenneth White—a convicted rapist with a violent criminal history—was released from prison and moved into their family home. Tensions immediately erupted over the inherited property they all shared.
On July 3rd, 1996, Lydia called 911 reporting Kenneth was chasing her with an axe. Police responded but made no arrests. Two days later, on July 5th, Lydia called her husband at work with the same terrifying message: Kenneth was chasing her with an axe again. She'd locked herself and the boys in the bedroom. Everett rushed home to save his family—and was never seen again.
Two hours later, Kenneth showed up at the restaurant driving Everett's van, wearing white shoes covered in blood. He claimed Everett had been arrested after a car accident. It was a lie.
THE INVESTIGATION FAILURES:
For 12 days, nobody searched for the family. When police finally conducted a welfare check, Kenneth said they were on vacation. His story constantly changed—Philadelphia, Minnesota, Hawaii—but police didn't investigate further. Meanwhile, Kenneth sold the family van to a scrapyard where it was immediately crushed, destroying evidence. He forged Lydia's signature and sold their home. When inspectors examined the house, they found the kitchen floor torn out and the bathtub and toilet painted bright red—changes made after the family disappeared.
In July 1997, FBI agents found bloody gym shorts and a child's blood-soaked sock at Kenneth's trailer in Gary, Indiana. Still, no arrest. Kenneth was eventually arrested in December 1997 for bank fraud—forging Lydia's signature on a $13,000 check. Federal prosecutors detailed everything: the axe threats, the blood evidence, the destroyed van, the suspicious renovations. On Christmas Day 1997, before he could stand trial, Kenneth White was found hanged in his jail cell. He left no note, no confession, no clues about where the bodies are hidden.
WHAT WENT WRONG:
This case represents a catastrophic series of investigative failures. Police didn't arrest Kenneth after the July 3rd axe threat despite his violent criminal record. They waited 12 days to check on a missing family. They didn't verify Kenneth's conflicting stories. They didn't search the house or van in time. Critical evidence was destroyed because authorities moved too slowly. Every opportunity to prevent this tragedy or solve this case was missed.
THE SEARCH CONTINUES:
The Thompson family deserves to be found. Somewhere, four people—a devoted father, a terrified mother, and two innocent children—are buried, hidden, or scattered. If you have any information about what happened to Everett Thompson Sr., Lydia Thompson, Everett Thompson Jr., or Andrew Thompson, please contact the Chicago Police Department Area South Detective Division at 312-747-5789.
This is their story. The family that vanished.
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