Park Forest woman Jerrica Laws last seen on routine walk

PARK FOREST, Ill. - What started like any other walk quickly turned into a missing persons case for a Park Forest woman nearly a decade ago.

While the family of 24-year-old Jerrica Laws is still hoping for some answers, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office is asking for your help in finding them.

Jerrica was last seen on Aug. 18, 2015, leaving her south suburban home to go for a walk.

"The thing that’s particularly difficult about this one is one of the things she really enjoyed doing was going for walks," said Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. "It was just something she did rather often."

What made that day unusual was that she didn’t take her purse with her.

"She had no ID on her whatsoever, and then she also didn’t have a phone. So when she left, there was no way really to connect to her. But more importantly, it was just very odd for her family to see that she had left with nothing," Dart said.

"So it was clear pretty quickly that there was a problem here and the family reached out to law enforcement right away."

Police said there were no signs of a struggle at the house or nearby.

"There was no particular sighting after she left the house at any location right around there," Dart said.

Investigators said they have no known reason why she wouldn’t have come back and that the tips in this case have been extremely limited.

"No we’re not aware of any other particular motives so this one is very puzzling on many levels," Dart said.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Department missing persons unit is leading the investigation. They said any information could be helpful to bringing answers for her family.

"So if anyone has seen anything whatsoever, or have heard anything. Even if you don’t think it’s the greatest information, please reach out to us and let us know. There’s a little bit of a dead end we’re at right now so any information would be helpful," Dart said.

Jerrica is described as about 5-foot-2, weighing between 140 and 145 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.

If you have any information about Jerrica, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office asks you to call or email them.