In the winter of 1991, Vikki Lynn Vukelich, a 32-year-old wife and mother of two, vanished from her home in Glenwood, Illinois. She was last seen on the evening of February 23, 1991, at her residence in the 500 block of Tulip Drive. According to her husband, David Vukelich, the couple had an argument about attending a party that night. He stated that he went to bed, and Vikki opted to sleep on the couch. When he woke up the next morning, Vikki was gone, along with $8,000 that he said was in a briefcase. Left behind were all of her personal belongings, including her clothing, shoes, purse, driver's license, and even her glasses and contact lenses, which she needed to see. Most importantly, she left behind her two daughters, then aged four and twelve.
The circumstances surrounding Vikki's disappearance were immediately unsettling to her friends and family. It was not her husband who reported her missing, but rather a concerned friend five days later.
The couple's marriage was known to be tumultuous, with police having been called to their home on several occasions for domestic disputes. Vikki had previously sought an order of protection against her husband in 1988, alleging he had tried to strangle her and threatened her life. She had filed for divorce twice before but had withdrawn the petitions, reportedly due to financial concerns. Shortly before she disappeared, however, Vikki had taken a second job and told friends she was determined to finally go through with the divorce. On the night Vikki vanished, a witness reported seeing figures in a car at the Vukelich home and hearing a woman's voice scream, 'Help me, please help me,' before the car sped away.
In the weeks and months that followed Vikki's disappearance, her husband's behavior raised further suspicion. Neighbors noted that he had a new garage floor poured, installed new carpeting in the house, and sold the home shortly after she went missing. David Vukelich filed for divorce two months after his wife vanished and later remarried. He has consistently maintained that Vikki left voluntarily. Despite being considered the prime suspect in his wife's disappearance, David has never been charged in connection with the case and has reportedly not cooperated with police investigations. Over the years, the case has been passed to the Illinois State Police, and authorities have conducted searches, including an excavation of the crawl space of the former Vukelich home in 2003, but no trace of Vikki has ever been found. The case of Vikki Vukelich remains an unsolved and deeply troubling mystery, leaving her loved ones without answers for decades.Last Seen: Feb 23, 1991
