Authorities in South Elgin are set to begin a forensic excavation Thursday morning at a home in the 800 block of Revere Road in the latest search tied to the 2016 disappearance of Kianna Galvin.
The South Elgin Police Department and the Fox Valley Major Crimes Task Force recently scanned the property with ground-penetrating radar, and detectives said the equipment found irregularities beneath the surface that need further examination. Officials have not said what caused the anomalies or whether they believe evidence connected to the case may be buried there.
Galvin vanished on May 6, 2016, after telling her younger sister she was heading to nearby Jim Hansen Park. She later sent a text at 12:35 p.m. to an unidentified man saying she was on her way to his home, and authorities said her cellphone stopped communicating with towers around 1:10 p.m. No further texts or calls were made from the device after that point.
The case took a darker turn six days later, when a neighbor living next door to the unidentified man contacted police after finding what appeared to be blood on the lid of a garbage can. Investigators later confirmed through testing that the blood belonged to Galvin. That same neighbor told police they saw her entering the man’s home either the day she disappeared or the day before.
Police executed a search warrant at the residence in November 2016, but authorities never publicly said whether any evidence was recovered. The home has since changed ownership. Residents later said it had undergone basement renovations about a year after Galvin disappeared, and more recently said it had been renovated again.
Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said, “Ten years have passed since Kianna disappeared, and the weight of that loss is still deeply felt by her family, her friends, and this entire community,” adding, “My heart remains with all who continue to carry that pain. We have not forgotten Kianna, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to seek the truth.” Officials are again urging anyone with information about Galvin’s disappearance to contact police, and authorities said additional updates will be released as they become available.
The new excavation underscores how little has changed in the search for answers nearly a decade after Galvin disappeared, even as investigators return to a property already searched once before. Thursday’s work may not settle the case, but it is the clearest sign yet that detectives still believe the ground at Revere Road could still hold something they have not found.