The body of Reverend Warren Beard, an assistant pastor at New Israelite Missionary Baptist Church, was discovered in the Des Plaines River in Rockdale, Illinois, ending a week-long search.
Reverend Beard, 53, was last seen on July 2, 2024, in Joliet, Illinois, around 9 p.m. A license plate reader captured his vehicle at approximately 10:30 p.m. near Jefferson Street and Larkin Avenue.
Beard’s family reported him missing when he did not return home or show up for work at the Preservation of Affordable Housing on Wednesday morning, July 3.
On Tuesday afternoon, July 9, fire officials located Beard’s vehicle submerged in the river, roughly four hours after being alerted by video footage from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers showing a vehicle entering the water on July 2. The Will County Coroner later confirmed that the remains inside the vehicle belonged to Reverend Beard.
According to police, a fisherman reported hearing a loud noise near where Beard’s vehicle entered the river but saw nothing upon closer inspection. The recovery efforts were challenging due to the murky waters of the Des Plaines River, which made it difficult for divers to locate the vehicle initially.
Authorities stated that there was no indication of foul play in the investigation. The vehicle had driven around a barricade and through a narrow gap beneath a raised drawbridge on Brandon Road, which had been closed for repairs since last September. Beard was found in the front seat of the vehicle.
The discovery has left Beard’s family and church community in deep sorrow. “We are all hurting right now,” said Beard’s aunt, Theresa Boss-French. “We all know Reverend Warren Beard is not someone who would just disappear without saying a word to his family.”
“He was the greatest person. One of the greatest men I’ve met in my life,” said Pastor Chenier Alston, who worked with Beard for 18 years. The community had gathered at the Auburn Gresham Church on Monday, July 8, before the discovery of the pastor’s body, for prayers, reflecting on Beard’s impact and dedication to his faith.
“Reverend Beard is very important to us,” Alston emphasized. “This is not like him. He would not abandon his family and not come home.” Alston mentioned that Beard was happy and jovial during their last phone conversation on the night he went missing.
Rockdale Fire Protection District Chief David Brady expressed the community’s grief, noting, “We’re all sad. This is not how we wanted this to end, but unfortunately, it has.”
The loss of Reverend Beard, a father of five, has deeply impacted his church and the community he served. Alston summed up the collective sentiment, saying, “We lost a man who loved his wife, his children, his family, a man who loved God with everything in him, a man who was passionate about his faith.”
The Illinois State Police and Chicago Police are leading the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Beard’s death. An autopsy is planned, but it may take several weeks before a cause of death is determined.