Janet L Tillman

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Belleville Police Department Il (IL)

Missing From:

East Saint Louis, Illinois

Summary:

Janet Lolisa Tillman, a 49-year-old woman from Belleville, Illinois, disappeared on October 28, 2007, after getting into a dark red car with an unidentified Black man in East St. Louis. She was reported missing by her family on November 5, 2007. Her disappearance remains unsolved.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

On October 28, 2007, three days before Halloween, Janet Tillman left her pets outside her residence in Belleville, Illinois. She was last seen in East Saint Louis, in the vicinity of Ninth Street and Exchange Avenue, getting into a dark red car with an unidentified Black man. The circumstances under which she was picked up are unknown. She was never seen or heard from again. Her family discovered her absence when the abandoned pets remained outside her home and she failed to contact her siblings, which was uncharacteristic of her. Her pets being left unattended prompted family members to grow concerned.

Additional Details:

Janet Tillman was reported missing on November 5, 2007, one day after her 50th birthday. She lived in the 9500 block of West Main Street in Belleville, Illinois. According to her family, Tillman was mentally handicapped and classified as disabled, with memory issues and difficulty focusing. She had spent most of her life working as a prostitute and had a criminal record for solicitation-related offenses. She was known to frequent the Illinois 203 Truck Stop in Troy and the Flying J market in Atherton. Her family reported feeling the police investigation was inadequate from the beginning. In March 2008, about four months after her disappearance, her family held a protest at Belleville City Hall, with about two dozen family and friends carrying signs and chanting. They alleged the Belleville Police Department had failed to properly investigate her case due to her profession, failed to follow up on leads, and took weeks to gain entry into her abandoned residence to search for clues. Police disputed these allegations, stating that Detective Marvin Henderson had followed every lead until they went cold. As of 2021, her family was offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to her location. Her disappearance has remained unsolved for nearly two decades.

Case Last Updated:

Apr 25, 2026