On a cold January night in 2007, 26-year-old Bradley 'Brad' Olsen vanished after an evening out with friends in DeKalb, Illinois. He was last seen in the early morning hours of January 20th, outside a nightclub called Bar One, located in the vicinity of the 900 block of West Lincoln Highway and Anne Glidden Road. Brad had gone to the bar with friends, but they left earlier in the evening. He stayed until the bar closed around 2:00 a.m. and was last seen at approximately 2:25 a.m. The temperature that night was near zero degrees. At the time of his disappearance, Brad was trying to get a ride home to Maple Park, where he lived with his parents. He was making calls on his cell phone, which went dead around 2:24 a.m. He has not been seen or heard from since that night.
At the time he went missing, Brad's parents were on vacation and returned on January 24th to find their son gone.
They reported him missing a week after his disappearance, noting it was highly uncharacteristic of him to be out of contact for more than a couple of days. Both of his vehicles were left at his home, and there has been no activity on his bank accounts since he was last seen. Brad was a graduate of Kaneland High School and worked in the construction industry. He was also a father to a young daughter who lived with her mother. Physically, Brad is a white male with brown hair and blue eyes, standing at 5'8' and weighing around 175 pounds. He has a scar in the center of his back, a tattoo of a palm tree on his left ankle, and a sun tattooed between his shoulders. On the night he disappeared, he was wearing a black short-sleeved collarless shirt, blue jeans, a brown three-quarter length leather coat, and black lace-up boots.
The investigation into Brad's disappearance has been extensive, involving numerous searches by law enforcement and hundreds of volunteers covering a 30-mile radius, but these efforts have not yielded any significant clues. Police have stated they believe foul play is potentially involved in his disappearance and that he is likely deceased. Several individuals have been given polygraph tests, but no suspects have been publicly named. In 2010, Bradley Olsen was legally declared dead, which allowed his daughter to receive Social Security benefits. Despite the passage of time, the case remains open and active, with the DeKalb Police Department continuing to investigate any new leads or tips they receive. His family has offered a $50,000 reward for information regarding his whereabouts. The disappearance of Bradley Olsen remains a painful mystery for his family and community, a story without an ending that began on a frigid night with a search for a ride home.Last Seen: Jan 20, 2007
