Nearly 30 years after Palatine man went missing, family still seeking answers

PALATINE, Ill. - It’s been nearly 30 years since a northwest suburban man disappeared without a trace.

Palatine police haven’t stopped looking for Anthony "Tony" Klama, and they are asking for the public’s help to find him.

The backstory:

Splinters Sports Pub is now closed for business, but its doors were open back on Nov. 5, 1998.

That was the night Palatine police detectives say then 36-year-old Klama stopped by to play darts. They also said he disappeared just before midnight not far from that bar.

"Around 11:30 p.m. that night, he was last seen near 1939 North Hicks, which is in the Fox Fire apartment complex," said Josh Hester, detective commander with the Palatine Police Department.

Hester walked through the case and shared with Fox 32 some new details on Klama’s disappearance.

"He was seen exiting a vehicle on the passenger side actually with an unknown male," Hester said. "They exited near the 1939 building and were last seen walking towards the 1939 building."

Hester said Klama lived in the 1939 building and worked as a maintenance man in the Fox Fire condominium complex.

"The vehicle was described as a light-colored vehicle. The male he was with was described as tall with a thin mustache, but further than that, he’s never been identified," Hester said.

Hester added that Klama didn’t show up for work the next day, which led to his supervisor to call 911 and file a missing person's report. He also called one of Klama’s sisters.

"It was unusual about the guy in the car. When we talked to the bartender at the bar, my brother played darts with some guy, but they left separate," said Linda Klama, Tony’s sister. "So, for him to meet up with another guy to get out of his car, I don't know where that guy came from. It was unusual, and that was, I mean, that's the big question, who was that guy? Why hasn't he ever come forward?"

Linda added, "My brother is a family man. He's very family oriented and he's more of a homebody, or was, actually I should say. So, and we're really close. He used to stay in touch with everybody."

Still Investigating:

Police said a search of Klama’s apartment turned up nothing, as did multiple canine and dive team searches in the area.

"Yeah, and we started putting up flyers and walked around talking to people," said Linda. "At one point, we did a grid search of the Forest Preserve across the street from the apartment complex. We had a lot of volunteers who came out to help."

Hester said, "This case did not have a lot of tips. We did interview a lot of people, both family, friends, coworkers. But tips-wise, we do not have a lot of tips on this case. That's why we're doing this [story] to hope somebody comes forward with more."

Hester added that investigators got one potential break in the case back in 2014 after an anonymous letter was mailed to Crime Stoppers.

"It had some references to the area that Tony was last seen in," Hester said. "It also had some reference to some suspicious activity they observed," Hester said.

Given how much time has passed, Hester is hoping that will help the person who wrote the letter, or someone else who knows something, to be able to come forward.

"We've had no sightings," Hester said. "We've got no financial activity. We've looked at all those records to see, did somebody just want to get away?"

Klama’s sister agrees her brother isn’t the type to just want to disappear.

"No, because my brother had a lot of tattoos," she said. "He had, a few days before he disappeared, made an appointment to get more tattoo work done. He was out of checks. He had them expressed, sent to his house. So the checks came in after he disappeared. He had made a dentist appointment for like three weeks later."

Those tattoos are pretty distinct and police are hoping they might lead them to Tony, even today.

That’s why they’d like the public to take a good look at the photos.

"So, Tony had some Native American-style tattoos," Hester said. "They were on his arms and chest, definitely very descriptive and would be identifiable if seen."

Linda Klama added, "We, we don't think he's alive. Um, you know, we, we accepted that a number of years ago, maybe 15, 20 years ago. There's no way he would have reached out by now."

"All we care about is having closure and knowing what happened to him and, and laying him to rest. We understand, you know, I think it was an accident. Something happened and you know he passed away. We understand that and we don't care. We just wanna lay him to rest. So please, please, if you know anything, please come forward."

Tony Klama is described as 6-foot-1, weighing around 160 pounds with brown hair, green eyes and a mustache.

What you can do:

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Palatine Police Department Investigations Bureau at 847-359-9000.

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