A distraught northwest suburban family continued to hope Monday for the safe return of its 76-year-old patriarch who went missing more than a week ago after he collected rents at his income properties on Chicago’s South Side.
About 70 volunteers and friends combed the area Sunday where Vasudeva Kethireddy, of Rolling Meadows, was last seen Aug. 4 as he left a bank at 69th Street and Ashland Avenue in West Englewood, family members said. The group handed out flyers with photos of the missing man. A reward totaling $11,000 is being offered for information, the family said.
“We still have hope that we’re going to find him,” said his daughter-in-law, Carolyn Kethireddy. “We need people to come forward with any information they might have.”
Her husband, Shantan Kethireddy, son of the missing man, said the family is trying to cope with the situation and is anxious to obtain some definitive information.
“We were hoping we would find some answers Sunday, but it’s a lot of territory to cover,” Shantan Kethireddy said.
One of the things the group did discover was the number of vacant buildings in the neighborhood, he said. He said Sunday’s search group went through a number of them looking for clues to his father’s disappearance.
“We would like to task the city to take a look at these units because it’s a dangerous situation when they are open and unoccupied,” Shantan Kethireddy said.
The missing man’s white 2005 Toyota Prius was found Aug. 7 near 60th and May streets, authorities said. Its license plates had been removed, but no other details about the car or its contents have been disclosed.
Shantan Kethireddy said his father had been collecting rents that day from at least six properties he owned in the Englewood area, depositing checks at an area bank. About 4 p.m., he was seen on video surveillance at a Chase bank branch, where he had withdrawn a large amount of cash, he said.
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“He didn’t seem in trouble. He walked calmly into and out of the bank,” Shantan Kethireddy said.
He said his father was a victim of an attack in Englewood last year when he was robbed of his car and wallet by someone who struck him in the back of the head, knocking him out and hospitalizing him. Shantan said his father chalked it up to one random incident in a community where he had been doing business for at least seven years. He said his father bought houses, fixed them up and rented them to families, and was well-known and liked in the community.
The Rolling Meadows Police Department is leading the investigation into Kethireddy’s disappearance but did not return phone calls. The Chicago Police Department referred calls about Kethireddy to Rolling Meadows.
The missing man is described as 5 feet 5 inches and weighing 135 pounds.
Shantan Kethireddy said the family is considering another search effort to find the grandfather of four.
“We’ll wait to see what other information we can obtain,” he said.
Anyone with information about Kethireddy is asked to contact Rolling Meadows police at 847-255-2416.
George Houde is a freelance reporter.