'He showed himself': Mom
Family got call it prayed for, but feared, on man's birthday
Sunday would have been Eric Kaminski's 29th birthday, and as she's done every year since he disappeared Feb. 5, 2004, his mother had family over to celebrate his birthday.
This year was different, though, said Patti Kaminski of Oak Forest. She felt it that morning.
(Keith Hale/Sun-Times)
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Praying for missing son
"When I awoke Sunday, I said, 'Eric, it's your birthday. Use every ounce of your energy and show yourself -- wherever you are,' " she said Wednesday in her living room, tears flowing as family surrounded her and a candle for Eric flickered among his photos
"I told his father [Dan] to repeat it with me all day," his mother said as relatives nodded.
They had gathered Sunday evening around Eric's favorite cake -- strawberry cream -- and sang happy birthday. They were eating cake and sharing memories when the phone rang about 10 p.m.
It was the police in Oak Lawn, where Eric's missing person report had long been a cold case. They told his parents a body had been found in Chicago clad in the coat Eric wore when he disappeared. Patti Kaminski collapsed.
"I could have ended my life right then," his mother said. "But I saw the hand of God. My son had listened to me. On his birthday, he showed himself. I thank Jesus."
Eric Kaminski was featured in the Chicago Sun-Times' "Missing In Chicago" series in October. The three-month investigation found 20,000 people are reported missing annually in Chicago.
The Kaminskis were among dozens of families that shared their stories for the series, which found police clear 98 percent of cases because most missing persons turn out to have left willingly. The remaining 2 percent of cases end in foul play or remained unsolved. But the investigation also found that police are reluctant to dedicate the resources needed to find missing adults.
"There truly needs to be a universal overhauling of the way missing person cases are handled," Patti Kaminski told the Sun-Times in October. "When it first happened, Chicago Area 4 detectives did get in touch with me, but I haven't heard from them in years."
The call she received Sunday was one she desperately prayed for yet hoped against. And Patti Kaminski lamented reports that the man suspected in her son's disappearance had been in a custody on another case, but let go. "When I think Eric's disappearance might have been resolved months later, rather than years . . . I'm just sickened," she said Wednesday.