Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009

Police continue to search for missing Belleville prostitute

Two years after the disappearance of a Belleville prostitute, a family member is making another attempt to find Janet Tillman.

Just shy of her 52nd birthday, Tillman, of the 9500 block of West Main Street, has been missing since Oct. 28, 2007.

"We haven't stopped looking and we're not going to ever give up," said Vickie Tillman, Janet Tillman's sister, of Oceanside, Calif. "We're not going to ever stop until we get Janet home, one way or the other."

On Wednesday, the Belleville Police Department sent out a new missing person flier for Tillman.

"It is still an open case here, and any leads we will follow up on," said Capt. Don Sax.

Tillman is a black woman with medium skin tone; 5 feet, 7 inches tall; 180 pounds; and wears glasses. She has a scar on her neck from a trachea tube and a scar on her left eyebrow.

Her criminal record includes convictions for prostitution.

She was last seen getting into a vehicle with an unidentified person in the area of Ninth Street and Exchange Avenue in East St. Louis. She also was known to frequent the Illinois 203 Truck Stop in Troy.

Tillman was reported missing Nov. 5, 2007, several days after family members last heard from her.

Vickie Tillman, who acknowledged her sister was a prostitute, said Janet Tillman had a history of mental disabilities and was classified as fully disabled because she was unable to remember some things and had a strong inability to focus.

Vickie Tillman said she dipped into her retirement savings to offer a $25,000 reward for information that leads to the location of her sister.

"We want to try to find her and know closure, whatever it may be," she said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Belleville Police Department at 234-1212 or CrimeStopppers at 866-371-8477.