A community in Chicago's south suburbs was asking for help Wednesday finding a missing dementia patient who has been gone for nearly two weeks.

Chester Palusiak was last seen on Thursday, Feb. 13, at his home near 165th Street and Wentworth Avenue in Calumet City.

For days, family, friends, and K-9 search crews have been looking for Palusiak, 72, who was known for his kindness.

Geneva Cummins said Palusiak would take her and other kids to church when she was 6 years old — and they have stayed in touch ever since.

"When you look at it, you say: 'Well, that's what he did. He took kids to church.' But he did so much more than that. He made sure when we went to church, we were fed," Cummins said. "There were times in my life that I wasn't safe and didn't have the bare necessities. And because of Chester, I did get those things."

Cummins said Palusiak lives with his two sisters.

"One sister had to go out, and Chester and the other sister were at home, and Chester left. He had done something like this once before. but it's been a long time, so it wasn't typical for him to leave," said Cummins. "But he went out that night walking. It was snowing that night, we know that, on February 13 — and of course it turned very cold after that. He did not take his wallet."

Cummins did not have a cellphone, Palusiak said. He had his coat on, but he had nothing else with him, and nobody knew where he was going.

"I do speak with his sister every day. I've also been speaking with a detective in Calumet City," Cummins said. "They've been great. They've been helpful. They went out and did searches the last couple of days. They've gone out with cadaver dogs yesterday. They searched pretty extensively along the Calumet River Basin area."

But a search that stretched from Lansing, Illinois, to Munster, Indiana, turned up no sign of Palusiak, Cummins said.

There are plans for more searches.

"We do want to plan another search. We would like it to be a much bigger search. We'd like to get more people involved," Cummins said. "So certainly any other sort of agencies or organizations that might be willing to provide some help to us, help us cover more ground where we have a general idea of where Chester went."

Anyone with information on Palusiak's whereabouts is asked to call Calumet City police.

Editor's note: Palusiak was found dead in Munster, Indiana on Monday, March 3, 2025. The cause of his death was pending toxicology tests, and there was no foul play or trauma, the Lake County, Indiana Coroner's office said.