In the summer of 1996, a shadow fell over a Chicago family, beginning a mystery that endures to this day. Eleven-year-old Everett Thompson Jr., a young boy with black hair and brown eyes, was a part of a seemingly ordinary family living on the city's South Side. His father, Everett Thompson Sr., was a local business owner, running the E.A.T. and Company Restaurant in the Park Manor neighborhood.
The family, which included Everett's mother, Lydia, and his younger brother, Andrew, resided in a home in the 8100 block of South Rhodes Avenue. Their lives took a tumultuous turn in February of that year when Lydia's brother, Kenneth White, came to live with them after being released from prison. The presence of White in the home created a tense and unhappy environment for the Thompson family. This tension escalated dramatically in the days leading up to their disappearance.
The situation within the Thompson household reached a breaking point in early July. On July 3, 1996, a frightened Lydia Thompson called 911, reporting that her brother, Kenneth, had threatened her with an ax. Although police responded to the call, the immediate conflict had subsided by the time they arrived, and no arrests were made. Two days later, on July 5th, the day the family was last seen, the terror returned. While at his restaurant, Everett Sr. received a frantic phone call from his wife, who told him that Kenneth was once again chasing her with an ax and that she had locked herself in a bedroom for safety. After relaying the terrifying news to his father, with whom he had been on another call, Everett Sr. rushed home from his restaurant. This was the last time anyone is known to have seen him. The events that followed only deepened the mystery and concern for the family's well-being.
In the hours and days that followed the frantic phone call, a series of suspicious activities unfolded, all pointing to Kenneth White. About two hours after Everett Sr. left his restaurant, White arrived at the establishment driving the family's van. He informed the manager that Everett Sr. had been in a car accident and was arrested, a story that would later prove to be false. The manager noticed what appeared to be red smears on White's sneakers. When concerned relatives were unable to contact the family, they asked the police to perform a welfare check on July 17. At the home, they found only Kenneth White, who claimed the family had gone on an impromptu vacation to Philadelphia. Over the following weeks, White gave conflicting stories about their whereabouts. He also took steps to sell the family's van and their home, forging Lydia's signature to do so. The investigation into the family's disappearance focused on White as the primary suspect, with the theory being that he had murdered them to gain possession of the house. Tragically, before he could be charged, Kenneth White took his own life in jail in December of 1997, leaving behind no note and taking any secrets he held about the Thompson family's fate with him. Despite searches of the Thompson home and a trailer where White was living, no signs of the family were ever found. The case of Everett Thompson Jr. and his family remains an open and haunting mystery, a story of a family that vanished and the lingering questions that have yet to be answered.Last Seen: Jul 5, 1996
