The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff Reports
Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 11:23 AM
Illinois 14-Year Old Missing, Believed To Have Ran Off With High School's Former Janitor
Anna Racine, 14, disappeared early Monday from her mother’s residence in Bureau Junction, according to Crime Online. Karen Podobinski, the teen’s mom, said she believed her daughter is with Morgan Burcham, 21.
Podobinski said she does not know what her daughter was wearing at the time she vanished but said she most likely has her black Nike sneakers with her and a red Hall High School bag.
“Morgan, bring her home safely. Anna, we love you with all our hearts. Please come home,” Podobinski said.
Bureau County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
“The initial information on Anna went out to a network for law enforcement,” Gary Becket, an investigator with Bureau County Sheriff’s Department, told the News Tribune. “This expands the search in hopes that she will be located should she have left the immediate area.”
Becket said he cannot confirm if the teen and janitor ran off together said: “it is possible.”
“Hopefully this will be over soon and they will return safely,” Becket said. “It is a surprise to both families that this has happened and their only concern is their safety. We want to talk to [Morgan] of course about what happened, but more importantly we want them to come home.”
Officials have asked for the public’s help in finding the missing teenager or man. They have offered a $1,000 award for any information that could lead to finding Racine and Burcham
