Police crowded a west suburban gas station Tuesday to investigation after a possible overnight robbery left one employee mysteriously missing.
Officers were called to a Shell gas station at 654 W. North Ave. in Elmhurst at approximately 5 a.m. Tuesday morning to check on the well-being of a clerk after receiving reports that no one was at the station to ring them up.
Upon arrival, the employee was nowhere to be found and the 24-hour gas station and convenience store was left unattended, according to police.
Police reviewed video from the store and say a man between 18 to 28 years old, with a medium build, entered the store and jumped over the counter, taking an unknown amount of money. The suspect and the employee were seen leaving the building shortly after.
Authorities say they are concerned for the well-being of the clerk, identified as Simone Boyd, and they've asked for the public's help in finding her. They also aned nearby businesses to lock their doors this morning.
Boyd is described as a 21-year-old woman, about 5 feet tall, weighing 170 pounds. She has long black hair, possibly in a pony tail, and was last seen wearing a green short-sleeve polo shirt and black pants.
Workers who showed up for their Tuesday afternoon shifts told NBC Chicago it was a woman who was scheduled to be working. A truck driver reported to have bought a coffee from the female attendant at 4:30 a.m., but a half hour later police say she was gone.
Other clerks would not comment further after being told not to speak on camera by their manager, but a regular customer expressed how strange the situation was for the neighborhood store.
“It’s a little bit crazy,” said Marcelo Rick. “I stop by every morning here to get my Red Bull and get some candy and go to work, and it’s really nice people who work here.”
Another customer said late Tuesday, "It terrible I mean it's my neighborhood so to hear anything like that happening it's scary. I just hope if she's not involved with it that she's alright."
Local
By 8 a.m. Elmhurst police were at the scene on the corner of Route 83 and North Avenue reviewing surveillance video to determine what occurred on the premise. Hours later into the afternoon, detectives were still dusting for fingerprints and gathering evidence in the bizarre disappearance.
Employees at the location serve customers behind a typical counter, without protective glass. A clerk was seen at the gas station Tuesday evening.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Elmhurst Police Department at (630) 530-3050.
