Aneta M. Marsek & her 2 children, 4-mo old Macenzie and 2-YO Chevelle missing from Wauconda, Michigan/ Update:FOUND SAFE safe and vacationing in the Wisconsin Dells!

October 12, 2012|By Adam Sege | Tribune reporter
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Aneta M. Marsek, center, and her two small children, 4-month-old Macenzie, left, and 2-year-old Chevelle, have not been seen or heard from since Saturday, Oct. 6 at approximately 7 p.m. Aneta was reported missing by her estranged husband, Dan Marsek, and was last seen leaving her parents residence in Wauconda on Saturday.
(Lake County Sheriff's office)
The search continued today for a missing Volo woman and her two young daughters, as water searches near her home turned up nothing and detectives followed up on tips of possible sightings.

Aneta M. Marsek, 33, and her daughters, ages 2 and 4 months, were last seen about 7 p.m. Saturday leaving her parents' home in Wauconda, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office. They were reported missing by Marsek’s estranged husband.

Officials are urging anyone with information about Marsek to come forward, said Sgt. Karen Kates, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.

“We’re looking for any tips the public has in regards to the whereabouts of her and her daughters,” Kates said.

Officials have distributed more than 9,000 copies of posters describing Marsek and her children, according to the sheriff's office.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is helping with the search and has alerted truck drivers from Illinois and five nearby states.

The Illinois State Police have added aerial support to the search, and a dive team from the Fox Lake Fire Department searched two retention ponds near Marsek's Volo home Thursday.

The dive team finished its searches without finding anything, Battalon Chief Tom Preidis said.

Fire officials also searched a marina in Winthrop Harbor, where Marsek's family reportedly used a Lake Michigan marina in the past, and also found nothing, said Patrick Michael, acting shift commander for the town's fire department.

Aneta Marsek is described as white, 5-foot-10, 150 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. The daughters have brown hair and brown eyes.

She drives a black Chevrolet Trailblazer with the Illinois license plate number CZAJA28. The rear bumper may be damaged, police said.

Anyone with information can call 847-377-4250 or 847-549-5200.

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Update: Police Working Around the Clock on Missing Volo Woman, Children

The Lake County Sheriff's office is classifying Aneta M. Marsek and her two children missing and endangered.

The three have not been seen or heard from since Oct. 6 and were reported missing by the woman's estranged husband.
By Melanie Santostefano and Claudia Lenart Email the authors October 11, 2012
Update 3:35 p.m., Oct. 12

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division has been actively working the missing persons case involving Aneta Marsek and her two children, Chevelle and Macenzie since it was reported on Oct. 10, according to a news release this afternoon. The Sheriff’s Office is using every available resource in an attempt to locate Aneta and her children, according to the release.

Under the direction of Sheriff Mark Curran, all available personnel assigned to this case will be working around the clock until there is a successful resolution.

The Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NECMC) has sent out over 9,000 faxes distributing the flyer of the missing children and their mother. NECMC also sent out an alert to truck drivers in Illinois as well as Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa.

In addition to the faxes and alerts, NECMC has also provided the LCSO with a member of “Team Adam”. Retired Chicago Police Officer, John Laskey, is a consultant for NECMC. He is on location at the Sheriff’s Office working side by side with detectives on the case. Mr. Laskey has an extensive background in locating missing persons.

Fox Lake Fire Department dive team is currently checking the retention ponds in the area of Aneta’s residence. The Law Enforcement Aviation Coalition and the Illinois State Police are also conducting aerial searches.

Anyone having any information regarding Aneta and her children are urged to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 847 377-4250 or 847 549 5200. Further information available at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] or call 1800 THE LOST.

Oct. 11

The Lake County Sheriff's Department is seeking information on the whereabouts of Aneta M. Marsek, 33, of Volo and her two children, two-year-old Chevelle and Macenzie who is four-months old.

The three have not been seen or heard from since Oct. 6, at roughly 7 p.m., when they left Marsek's parent's home in Wauconda.

The woman and her children were reported missing by her estranged husband, Dan Marsek.

Aneta Marsek is described as a white female, standing 5 foot 10 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds. She has brown hair and hazel eyes.

Chevelle Marsek is described as a white female, standing 30 inches tall and weighing 30 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

Macenzie Marsek is described as a white female infant who is 28 inches long and weighs 25 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

The vehicle Anita Marsek was driving at the time of the disappearance is a black Chevrolet Trailblazer, Illinois Registration: CZAJA28. It may have rear bumper damage from a recent accident.

Anyone having any information regarding this case are urged to contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 847 377-4250 or Lake County Radio 847 549-5200.

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Despite search by plane, helicopter, no sign of missing Volo family

BY DAN ROZEK Staff Reporter [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] October 12, 2012 7:04PM

Police are looking for a 33-year-old northwest suburban woman and her two young children, who have not been seen or heard from since Saturday night. Aneta M. Marsek, 33, of Volo, and her daughters, 2-year-old Chevelle and 4-month-old Macenzie, have not been seen since about 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, when they left her parents’ home in Wauconda, according to a missing persons alert from the Lake County Sheriff’s office. |
Updated: October 12, 2012 7:05PM

Aneta Marsek vanished along with her two young daughters during a routine, five-mile drive from her parents’ Wauconda home to her own house in Volo.

A week later, the 33-year-old Marsek and her daughters remain missing, despite an intense police search that began Wednesday and has included a helicopter and a small airplane.

“I am worried, I’m very worried. I’m scared something happened on the road,” her mother, Wanda Czaja, said Friday as she waited for word about her daughter and grandchildren.

Lake County sheriff’s police launched a search for the family after Marsek’s estranged husband reported her and the youngsters — two-year-old Chevelle and four-month-old Macenzie — missing.

Police used a helicopter Thursday to search fields and woods near Aneta Marsek’s rural subdivision in the far northwest suburb. A light plane also was used Friday to comb the area, while a dive team searched ponds around her subdivision, police said.

While there have been several reported sightings of Marsek and her black Chevy Trailblazer in the Chicago area, investigators are trying to confirm if those are genuine, said Sgt. Karen Kates, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department.

Police say they’re still working to determine if Marsek intentionally left the area or fell victim to foul play.

“It’s uncertain what happened,” said Kates.

Czaja doubts her daughter left voluntarily, saying she’s never “run away” before. Her two dogs were left behind in her house, Czaja said.

In addition to her pending divorce, Aneta Marsek was laid off last month from her retail job and the family’s house has slid into foreclosure, her mother said.

“It’s very tough,” Wanda Czaja said.

But her daughter seemed in good spirits last Saturday when she and her children spent the afternoon at Czaja’s home with several other relatives—the last time Czaja has seen her only daughter.

Marsek’s estranged husband, Dan, has cooperated with investigators, police said. He couldn’t be reached Friday for comment.

Aneta Marsek’s SUV has a license plate of CZAJA28. Anyone with information can contact sheriff’s police at (847) 549-5200 or (847) 377-4250.

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It always sends up my red flags when I hear the person (usually the husband) that reports the person missing is cooperating but cannot be reached for comment.

I don't know what is going on but have posted at least 4 new missing adults in less than 24 hours.

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Aneta Marsek Search Unsuccessful

October 12, 2012 09:00 PM EDT

Today's search for Aneta Marsek turned out unsuccessful after making use of a small plane and helicopter in hopes of locating the woman and her two young daughters.

This wraps up day six of the search for the woman, with hopes dwindling in finding her alive as there is already online chatter about the possibilities of her meeting some kind of harm.

Investigators are trying to figure out if Marsek met foul play or if she and her children intentionally fled the area. The details about the missing woman's life are now coming out through media reports and they aren't positive at all. She's going through a divorce, just lost her job and her home just slipped into foreclosure.

Is it at all possible that Aneta Marsek harmed herself?

This is not a thought that anyone wants to think about with there being two children involved in this woman's disappearance, but it does happen. Could the woman have vanished under such stress that she harmed herself and possibly her children? Remember that depression and stress can do a lot to a person's judgement, even a loving mother. So it's not wrong to address the likelihood that she, too, could have fallen victim to this tragic line of thinking.

Hopefully more details come out that lend to a positive end to this case, because, as it stands currently, this is shaping up to be a very tragic case.

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October 12, 2012 (VOLO, Ill.) (WLS) -- As the search for a missing mother and her children enters a new phase, ABC7 News has learned the north suburban woman may have disappeared before.

Friends say the estranged husband of the missing woman is distraught. He was behind an effort Friday night to hand out fliers to everyone.

Their goal is to have fliers in as many places as possible. They have no idea where 33-year-old Aneta Marsek may have gone so they plan to blanket the greater Chicago area.

"I'm going to take them back home with me and probably give them to some of the businesses around there," said friend Walter Kozlowski.

"We just pray that someone out there has seen her and if she sees this that she knows that she's loved," said friend Lynn Zelinski.

Aneta's estranged husband Dan Marsek organized Friday night's effort, though he declined to come himself.

He did however just Thusrday file an order of protection against his missing wife.

Among the allegations he makes is that she has disappeared three other times during the marriage, January, March and May of 2012, and she has kept the children from him for two months.

Aneta Marsek filed for divorce in June shortly before giving birth to Macenzie, the youngest daughter. She also asked for an order of protection, but it was later dropped.

Friends and family say the issues could be worked out. But first they need to find her and the kids.

"We've done everything we possibly can, the police are doing everything. The families are both working together just trying to her home," said friend Kristi Kunish.

The family had nothing to say about the order of protection, but they do say, however, that she was planning on moving out of her house in Volo and move in with her parents. Instead, there is a vigil planned outside the home for Saturday.

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October 14, 2012 10:13PM

A northwest suburban woman and her two daughters — whose disappearance last week sparked a candlelight vigil and searches by aircraft pilots and scuba divers — were found Sunday safe and vacationing in the Wisconsin Dells.

Aneta Marsek, 33, and her daughters — ages 2 and 4 months — were reported missing by Marsek’s estranged husband, Dan Marsek, after the trio apparently vanished October 6th during a five-mile drive from her parents’ Wauconda home to her own house in Volo.

Authorities used a helicopter and airplane to help in their search, and divers searched ponds near Marsek’s home.

On Saturday evening, a candlelight vigil was held for the trio.

It’s unclear how the miscommunication occurred but law enforcement near the Wisconsin Dells informed authorities in Illinois that Marsek and her daughters were “unharmed and vacationing in the Dells,” according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Department Sunday evening.

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More: Bio, News Team
October 14, 2012 (VOLO, Ill.) (WLS) -- The Lake County Sheriff says missing Volo mother Aneta Marsek and her two daughters have been found eight days after they disappeared.

The statement was made around 8 p.m. on Sunday night.

There is still much not known about their disappearance, but the statement they released said that Marsek and her two children were located in the Wisconsin Dells.

The statement goes on to say they were found safe and "relatively healthy." Though it is unclear what exactly that means, investigators said that all three are being checked out at a local hospital.

Marsek, 33, her 2-year-old daughter Chevelle and 4-month-old daughter Macenzie went missing a week ago Saturday, October 6. She was last seen leaving her parents' house in Wauconda.

There has been no activity on her cell phone or credit cards, leading police she had been the victim of foul play.

Marsek had recently filed for divorce and was planning to move back in with her parents.

In an order of protection filed by her estranged husband Dan Marsek after his family vanished, he alleged that his wife had disappeared before and kept the kids away from him.

Sunday night Dan Marsek spoke to ABC7 on the phone and was ecstatic that his family has been located safe and sound.

"Right now, my focus is getting my girls and my wife home," he said. "I'll be focusing on that right now, like I have been for the past few days."

The Lake County Sheriff's office says police in the Wisconsin Dells report that all this time Marsek was vacationing with her daughters.

More information on this developing story is expected on Monday.

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video at above link.

By Matt Arado and Steve Zalusky

The Lake County sheriff’s department said Sunday evening that a missing Volo woman and her two young daughters were found safe and vacationing near the Wisconsin Dells.

Aneta Marsek and her daughters, Chevelle, 2, and Macenzie, 4 months went missing Oct. 6 after leaving her parents’ Wauconda home. The news release said more information would be coming.

Deputies had continued their search under often stormy conditions Sunday, seeking clues at boat launch areas and beaches in the Chain O’ Lakes while others revisited areas previously explored.

Working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the sheriff’s department has sent out more than 9,000 faxed reports about the Marseks. The center also has alerted truck drivers in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa, police said.

Authorities have said they have no evidence of foul play but haven’t ruled anything out.

Aneta Marsek hadn’t used credit cards or her cellphone since disappearing, the department said over the weekend.

Dan Marsek reported his wife missing Wednesday, records show. Marsek told police he had not known about the disappearance for several days.

Aneta Marsek filed for divorce in June, according to court records. Both Marseks had filed for orders of protection against each other, records show. Family members told ABC-TV Channel 7 that she had planned to move in with her parents.

The television station said Aneta Marsek had dropped her request for an order of protection.

A vigil for Aneta Marsek and the children was held Saturday night. A montage of photos stood in a frame on the front porch of Aneta Marsek’s home and lights from the garage illuminated images of Marsek and her estranged husband smiling together and enjoying time with their two young children on a beach.

“We love you,” read the words taped around the photos. “Come home!”

As night fell, the flicker of dozens of candles joined that light as family and friends gathered in a vigil for the 33-year-old missing woman.

“Aneta, if you can see this, the whole family misses you, loves you,” Dan Marsek said at the time. “We want you home. I love you. I miss you. Chevelle, Macenzie, daddy loves you, too.”

A teary-eyed Marsek then retreated into his wife’s home without taking questions from the media who had been invited to help spread the word of the disappearance. Dan Marsek has not lived in the home for some time.

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Aneta Marsek found living in Chevrolet Trailblazer in Wisconsin Dells, 150 miles from her home
Both children in 'good health' have been released into custody of their father
Trio last seen leaving parents' home in Wauconda, Illinois on Saturday night
Police and CSI team searched family home in the nearby village of Volo
Family held vigil on Saturday night before she called police on Sunday with news of her whereabouts

By DANIEL MILLER and VICTORIA WELLMAN
PUBLISHED: 14:51 EST, 15 October 2012 | UPDATED: 14:58 EST, 15 October 2012

The family of an Illinois woman reported missing with her two young children seven days ago are breathing a huge sigh of relief after police found all three alive and safe 150 miles away in Wisconsin yesterday.

Aneta Marsek and her daughters were reported missing by her estranged husband after family members had been unable to reach her since the previous Saturday evening.

Police located Ms Marsek, 33 and her two daughters, Chevelle, 2, and Macenzie, four months, after the mother asked a garage attendant in Wisconsin Dells to call the police and let them know they were alive and living in her SUV.


Found: Aneta Marsek and her daughters Macenzie, four months, and Chevelle, 2, had been missing for seven days before police found them parked in Wisconsin Dells where they had been living in the car

The Volo mother told Lake County Sheriff's department that she 'needed to get away' and that she many 'childhood memories' of the Wisconsin Dells area.

The trio were found living in Ms Marsek's Chevrolet Trailblazer in a 'secluded wooded area' near County Road H and Fitzgerald Road.

Karen Kates of the Lake County Sheriff's office told MailOnline that despite the long period of time away from home with an infant, Ms Marsek ' had supplies to care for the baby.'

Before their return home, the mother and her two children had last seen leaving her parents' Wauconda home at around 7pm Saturday night though police now say she didn't leave for Wisconsin until Monday.

Police cordoned off the family home in the nearby village of Volo. A CSI van was parked in the driveway and investigators were seen moving in and out of the house with equipment.

Days ago, family friend Kelly Lizzo told Chicago's WGNTV: 'We're worried about her. We're worried about the kids. 'We don't know what happened. We don't know where she is, and of course, not knowing, anything and everything is going through your head.'

Police issued an 'endangered missing person' notice and distributed 9,000 posters appealing to the public for help.

On Saturday night, losing hope for the safe return of Ms Marsek and her daughters, nearly 100 people turned out to a vigil held by the family.

Found safe and sound, all three were taken to St. Clair Hospital in Baraboo, Wisconsin to be examined.

Described by police as being in 'good health' the two little girls were released into the custody of their father, Dan Marsek, while Aneta Marsek was transported to the Winnebago Mental Health Facility in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for further examination.

Karen Kates confirmed that the case had now been turned over to Lake County state's attorney's office to review.

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Article updated: 10/15/2012 8:18 PM
Volo mother remains hospitalized in Wisconsin
Children back home with father

By Lee Filas
A missing Volo woman who was the subject of an intensive search said she needed to “get away” and spent six days living out of her SUV with her two young children in a secluded area of the Wisconsin Dells, authorities said Monday.

Aneta Marsek, 33, remains in a mental health hospital in Wisconsin after she turned herself in to authorities Sunday, but her two children are safe at home, Lake County sheriff’s Deputy Chief Wayne Hunter said.


“Police are telling me she is OK but have kept her in the hospital,” said her father, John Czaja. “I can’t speculate on what happened or why she is still in the hospital right now. I’m trying to make some calls to find out what is going on.”

Dan Marsek, Aneta’s husband, did not return telephone calls seeking comment. The voicemail message on his cellphone said “we are taking this time to celebrate as a family” and thanked all for their assistance.

Aneta Marsek and her children left her parents’ Wauconda house Oct. 6 and went missing for more than a week. Family and friends held vigils and passed out fliers as authorities searched area retention ponds in Volo and Lake Michigan near Winthrop Harbor, and alerted truck drivers in six states.

That search ended about 6:55 p.m. Sunday when Wisconsin Dells police officers received a 911 call from a gas station attendant who said a woman had walked into the building and asked that the attendant call police, Hunter said.

The woman identified herself to arriving officers as Aneta Marsek, Hunter said, and told them she believed people were looking for her. She led officers to her Chevrolet Trailblazer, where her children, Chevelle, 2, and Macenzie, 4 months, were located.

Aneta Marsek told police she had been living in her vehicle in the secluded wooded area off County Road H and Fitzgerald Road since she had arrived in the Dells days earlier.

At that point, Hunter said, the three were taken to St. Clair Hospital in Baraboo.

Both children were examined, found to be in good health and later released into the custody of their father, Dan Marsek. Aneta Marsek was taken to Winnebago Mental Health Facility in Oshkosh, Wis.

Hunter added that Aneta Marsek told Lake County detectives she did not leave the Volo area until sometime the morning of Monday, Oct. 8. She said she needed to “get away” and the Dells reminded her of “childhood memories.”

Working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Lake County sheriff’s office sent out more than 9,000 faxed reports about the Marseks. The center also had alerted truck drivers in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa, police said.

Aneta Marsek filed for divorce from her husband in June, court records show, and both Marseks filed for orders of protection against each other.

She had dropped her request for an order of protection, but Dan Marsek had obtained his on Oct. 11 after the children were reported missing, court records show.

Hunter said it would be difficult to calculate the costs of the search as some resources were already on duty but redirected, for example.

“It would be very difficult to tabulate a bill with any accuracy,” he said.

As of Monday afternoon, authorities were said to still be conducting interviews.

“In a situation like this, the police are involved in the investigation not only in trying to find her but what the circumstances were,” said Jeff Pavletic, chief deputy Lake County state’s attorney.

He said that investigation would determine whether there was foul play or criminal activity of some sort and whether the matter should be referred to the state’s attorney’s office for review.

That had not occurred as of Monday afternoon, he said.

Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said he was relieved the case had a happy ending.

“I would like to commend our many divisions of the sheriff’s office that put their heart and souls into locating Aneta and her children,” Curran said. “We want to thank the entire law enforcement community, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, friends and family of the missing and the media for their assistance and overwhelming support in their attempts to help us locate Anita and her two children.”

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No reimbursement sought in case of missing Volo mom, children

By EMILY COLEMAN - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Created: Thursday, November 1, 2012 2:20 p.m. CDT

VOLO – Lake County officials will not seek reimbursement for costs incurred while searching for a Volo woman and her two children, the state's attorney said.

Aneta Marsek, 33, was found with her two children vacationing in the Wisconsin Dells four days after being reported missing by her estranged husband, Dan Marsek, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

There is no legal basis for seeking reimbursement, State's Attorney Michael Waller said Wednesday. No one lied to the police during the course of the investigation, he added.

"The police did their job," Waller said. "They took the disappearance of the woman and her two children seriously."

Law enforcement conducted a 12-square-mile grid search, a dive team checked the retention ponds in the area of Aneta Marsek's house, and other agencies conducted aerial searches, according to previous reporting.

"It was typical for the type of situation we had," Lake County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Wayne Hunter said.

It would be too difficult to put together an estimate on how much the search cost, Hunter added.

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