'It's so bizarre': Friends, family in shock after Chicago attorney reported missing
Lane Campbell, a Northwestern University attorney known for bringing people together at music shows, vanished after leaving his girlfriend's home with a duffle bag.
Friends and family of Lane Campbell, a 50-year-old Northwestern University attorney, say they are in shock after he was reported missing following his disappearance from Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, according to NBC Chicago. Campbell was last seen February 19, 2021, in the 900 block of Belle Plaine Avenue.
Campbell had spent time at his girlfriend's home in suburban Oak Forest on Walnut Road. While she was out, he left that Friday morning with a duffle bag, apparently traveling back to his Uptown apartment by ride-share or public transportation. The bag was later found at his Chicago home, along with his car, and police believe he still had his cellphone, wallet and house keys when he left.
"It's completely unprecedented for him to do something like this ... completely out of the blue," said Mark Sheppard, a longtime friend and law school classmate, per NBC Chicago. Sheppard also described Campbell as "a very social guy" who "loves music shows (and) bringing people together."
A missed weekly call
Campbell's sister told reporters he missed his weekly phone call with their father on the Friday he disappeared — behavior family members described as uncharacteristic. "It's becoming worrisome," his sister Annie said as the search entered its sixth day, according to the report.
The search
At Northwestern, Campbell served as director of export controls compliance, having joined the university in 2010 as a senior contract and grant officer before moving into the compliance role in 2012. The family hired an attorney and a private investigator to assist in the search, and Chicago police asked anyone with information to call 312-744-8266.
What the disappearance signals
The details friends and family emphasized — a missed routine phone call, a duffle bag left behind with his car, and a personality friends called social and reliable — are what made the case feel abrupt to the people who knew him, rather than any single piece of physical evidence pointing to what happened. As of this report, Campbell's whereabouts were unknown and the case remained an active search.
US In News compiled this archived account from contemporaneous coverage by NBC Chicago. It restores a story originally published on this site in February 2021; figures are as reported at the time.