It’s been two weeks since Merrionette Park man Daniel “Dan” Davis went missing from the bar he has worked at for more than two decades, but mysterious sightings now have his family seeking answers for what they said was unusual behavior.
The 59-year-old was wearing a black Harley Davidson jacket and red Indiana University “IU” sweatshirt before he was reported missing. He was spotted in those same clothes days later.
“We need people to keep talking about it, keep sharing, keep checking their cameras if they live in Blue Island,” his daughter Wendy Davis told NBC Chicago. “We have like 10 different videos – walking around pretty disoriented, going through peoples yards, cutting through alleys and there’s even a couple people we’ve spoken to now who said they interacted with Dan and said that he was asking them how to get to Bourbon Street on the 25th.”
Davis has worked at Bourbon Street Bar in Merrionette Park for nearly 25 years. It’s the last place he was seen by people he knows.
New potential sightings are keeping his family hopeful, but they’re still looking to bring him home safely.
Timeline of disappearance and sightings
11/24
11:15 p.m. – Davis gets into a car accident and refuses medical attention. His car is towed and he’s given a ride to Bourbon Street bar where he works.
11/25
1:15 a.m. – Davis is spotted leaving Bourbon Street on foot.
7:19 a.m. – Davis is seen walking into a backyard at 2331 Des Plaines St., about 4 miles away from his work.
7:20 a.m. – He’s spotted walking through a yard at Des Plaines and Gregory. Video shows him falling and hitting his head on the sidewalk.
7:33 a.m. – Davis is seen circling back around in front of 2331 Des Plaines, appearing confused.
8:40 a.m. – He’s spotted at 135th and Greenwood Avenue, half a mile away.
11:12 a.m. – Davis is spotted walking at 13314 Rexford St., cutting through yards.
2 p.m. – Davis is seen cutting through a yard at Vermont and Maple.
2:23 p.m. – He’s spotted at 2629 Grove St. drinking a cup of what looked like Coke, cutting through yards
3 p.m. – Davis appears disoriented on surveillance at 13217 Old Western Ave. while asking a homeowner how to get to Bourbon Street.
4:20 p.m. – Davis is spotted around 127th and Greenwood walking around and looking in the bed of a truck on ring camera.
6 p.m. – He is seen with a bloody face at 127th and Kedzie spotted at Pilot gas station.
11/26
6:35 p.m. – Davis is seen leaving St. Donatus Church at 1939 Union St. in Blue Island.
Unconfirmed 12/3
7:40 p.m. – Davis was possibly spotted outside Pierre’s Bakery on Western Avenue and Orchard asking a man for a cigarette.
“One person that I went up to, I went to hand him a flyer, and he said he did speak with my dad on the 25th and my dad asked him how to get to Bourbon that day, but then he said he saw him again on Wednesday the 3rd and recognized him from that previous interaction,” Wendy Davis said.
She’s been working with police to confirm that sighting.
Wendy Davis said her father is not someone to deviate from his routine. She isn’t aware of any medical condition he may have, but is concerned with his demeanor in surveillance videos.
“He’s walking a bit crooked and seems confused,” she said.
“He’s a straight up goofball, there’s never a serious moment, every memory I have with him is just laughing at the dumbest thing, but at the same time he’d drop everything for me and the people he cared about,” she said.
A Cook County Sheriff’s office bloodhound tracked his scent from the St. Donatus Church to an area under the 127th Street bridge near a rail yard entrance, but lost his scent there.
Wendy Davis hopes everyone in the community will keep an eye out for her father and check their home or business surveillance video often in hopes he’s spotted again. Anyone with information or video should contact police.
Family says his bank and credit card activity have not been active since before the crash.
Family will host a candlelight vigil for Davis at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Bourbon Street Bar. Immediately following the vigil there will be a community search party.
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
