Kaila Vincent Vatole
The Vanished Podcast
Wondery
4.5 • 15K Ratings
🗓️ 5 January 2026
⏱️ 83 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On the afternoon of January 8, 2023, deputies from the Jersey County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a trespassing call in Dow, Illinois. A landowner reported seeing two men riding across his fields: one on a four-wheeler and the other driving a blue Buick. When deputies caught up with one of the men, he explained that he was searching for his girlfriend, 39-year-old Kaila Vincent Vatole, who had left their residence earlier that day. He said he didn’t know which direction she had gone, but he was worried about her and told deputies she might be suicidal.
Given the seriousness of the situation, a search for Kaila began immediately. Deputies arrived on scene shortly after 2 p.m., and, with daylight already fading in the winter months, a helicopter was requested to cover as much ground as possible before nightfall. Several other agencies were called in to assist with the search efforts. Deputies went door to door, asking neighbors if anyone had seen Kaila, but no one had. It was as if she had simply vanished without a trace. The sheriff then contacted the Illinois State Police to request an aircraft equipped with heat-sensing technology, hoping it could locate Kaila. The pilot identified several heat signatures, but each proved to be an empty well or a culvert.
They began pinging Kaila’s phone. A deputy also attempted to call her several times, and that's when it was heard ringing inside the house under a pile of clothing. At that point, investigators realized Kaila had left without her phone, eliminating what might have been their strongest digital trail. In the days that followed, deputies returned to the area to search, but no trace of Kaila was found. More than three years later, what happened to Kaila Vincent Vatole remains unknown.
If you have any information about the disappearance of Kaila Vincent Vatole, please contact the Jersey County Sheriff’s Office at 618-498-6881.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We put a lot of press out on this case. |
| 0:03.0 | We put a lot of press out on this case. |
| 0:14.0 | Pretty much every year we try to put press out about it, so people keep looking. |
| 0:18.0 | Missing persons are absolutely, in my experience, the hardest |
| 0:22.3 | thing on families. In a homicide, you have answers. And the suicide, you have answers. In a tragic |
| 0:27.2 | accident, you have answers. You don't have answers in a missing person. And the mental toll that |
| 0:32.9 | that takes on family, in my experience is super, super, super rough. And I wish I could tell the family, I think she got out for here and she went somewhere else |
| 0:42.1 | and was sure hoping to find her someday. |
| 0:44.8 | On the afternoon of January 8th, 2023, deputies from the Jersey County Sheriff's Office were |
| 0:51.0 | dispatched to a trespassing call in Dow, Illinois. |
| 0:55.6 | A property owner reported seeing two men riding across his fields, one on a four-wheeler and another driving a blue |
| 1:01.0 | Buick. When deputies caught up with one of the men, he explained that he was searching for his |
| 1:06.1 | girlfriend, 39-year-old Kayla Vincent Vitoli, who had left their residence on foot earlier that day. |
| 1:13.1 | He said that he didn't know which direction she had gone, but he was worried about her and told |
| 1:17.7 | deputies she might be suicidal. Given the seriousness of the situation, a search for Kayla |
| 1:23.1 | began immediately. Deputies had arrived on scene shortly after 2 p.m. And with daylight fading |
| 1:29.3 | so early in the winter months, helicopter was requested in hopes of covering as much ground |
| 1:34.3 | as possible before nightfall. The fire department, Jersey County Ambulance, and conservation |
| 1:39.3 | officers were called in to assist. Deputies went door to door, asking neighbors if anyone had seen Kayla, |
| 1:45.8 | but no one had. It was as if she had simply vanished without a trace. The sheriff then contacted |
| 1:51.7 | the Illinois State Police to request a plane equipped with heat-sensing technology, hoping that |
| 1:57.3 | would locate Kayla. The pilot identified several heat signatures, |
... |
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