John Albert Barnes was 58 when he was last seen by family after spending Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1982, with his daughter in Wheeling, Illinois. Born in Rotherham, England, he had lived in Canada, Australia and the United States after serving with the air force division of the British Navy. At the time of his disappearance he was reported between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 5 inches, about 145 to 150 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

A family friend named Effie said she traveled with Barnes to Chicago shortly after Thanksgiving and left him in the Madison Street area with $20; he was reportedly planning to do a job for a man named Joe but never arrived and Joe never heard from him again. Family searches, a private investigator and a genealogy firm turned up no trace, and there has been no Social Security activity since 1982; no death certificate is on file with the U.S. Social Security Administration or the UK National Archives.

On October 18, 2023 the Wheeling Police Department opened a missing persons case to enter Barnes into NamUs and renew searches. Does anyone remember seeing John Barnes in downtown Chicago or Madison Street around late November 1982?