Desperate for information, Joe Hartsoe’s family has issued a $500 reward for information that leads to locating him.

Hartsoe’s sister, Ashley Hartsoe, said it has been hard for the family to not have answers for the 10 weeks that he has been missing. “We need and deserve to know something, we need closure,” Ashley said.

Hartsoe has been missing since Nov. 25, when he left his laundry at a family member’s house and got into a car with two or three people. The driver of the car was Hartsoe’s roommate at the time of his disappearance.

The former roommate told police that he dropped Hartsoe off at a pawnshop in East St. Louis, Ashley said.  Police, at this point, have been unable to confirm that information, Detective Mark Kuechle, of the Collinsville Police Department said.

Police have interviewed the roommate and his girlfriend who were both in the car with Hartsoe, as well as several others, but still have no leads. The case has once again lost steam, Kuechle said.

The former roommate answered the family’s calls shortly after Hartsoe went missing, but the family has not heard from him recently. There are also rumors, Ashley said, that Hartsoe owed money to the former roommate, who pled guilty in federal court to crack cocaine distribution in 2009.

Multiple people have told family members that the former roommate killed Hartsoe and dumped his body in a warehouse in East St. Louis. It appears that Hartsoe’s Facebook page was updated several hours before he was last seen to say that he had moved to East St. Louis. Ashley said he has no known connections to the city.

Numerous sightings of Hartsoe have been reported since Nov. 25, including reports that he was seen in a south St. Louis County mall and the Dollar General store in Collinsville. Police have not been able to corroborate any of the sightings, Kuechle said.

In the ten weeks since Hartsoe was last seen, his family has searched for leads, posted flyers, hosted a candlelight vigil, posted messages on his Facebook page begging him to come home and even painted a missing poster onto a truck. But they have nothing, Ashley said.

The reward is being offered for Hartsoe’s return, if the news is good or bad, Ashley said. Anyone with information on Hartsoe’s whereabouts is asked to contact Kuechle at (618) 344-2131, extension 5138. Information can also be provided anonymously by calling (618) 301-4444.

Anyone who would like to contribute to the reward amount can do so by going to a US Bank branch and asking to donate to the “Bringing Joey Home Fund. January 2014.” Ashley and Hartsoe’s mother, Wanda, are also distributing wristbands for a donation to increase the reward amount. Anyone interested in a “Bring Joey Home” wristband can contact Ashley or Wanda through Facebook.

Hartsoe was wearing a grey t-shirt, dark blue jacket and dark grey coat at the time of his disappearance.