Joe Hartsoe’s family and friends gathered for another candlelight vigil Wednesday. This time they were not hoping for his safe return, but commemorating what would have been his 23rd birthday.

Family and friends release balloons to commemorate what would have been the 23rd birthday of Joe Hartsoe / Photo by Roger Starkey

The group gathered once again in the parking lot of the Family Video at 108 St. Louis Road in Collinsville, across the street from where Hartsoe last lived. Family and friends braved an icy-cold night to hold a candlelight vigil in the same spot on Dec. 30, five weeks after he disappeared, hoping for his safe return.

With temperatures dipping into the 30’s Wednesday, well below average, the general mood among the group, most wearing t-shirts with “Justice for Joey” on the back, was not as somber as the previous vigil. References were made to Hartsoe being in heaven, “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” by Guns N’ Roses, blared from a car stereo as someone shouted “Joey, this is for you,” and adolescent cousins that Hartsoe had taught to play baseball ran around the parking lot. Someone brought a birthday cake and balloons were released into the sky to honor Hartsoe on his birthday.

For some, the loss of hope that their beloved family member would return had taken its toll. Hartsoe’s cousin, Tanya Rivoire, was visibly upset. “This birthday will never be the same, we always celebrated it together,” Rivoire said, before retreating to a curb to sit by herself, away from the gathered crowd.

Wanda Hartsoe, Joe’s mother, had thrown herself into work, after his disappearance on Nov. 25, to help cope with the stress of not knowing the whereabouts of her missing son. That does not work anymore, she said.

After she was notified on Feb. 11 that her son’s body was found along the railroad tracks near 3000 Wharf Street in North St. Louis, near the Mississippi River, Wanda took time off work. She has recently returned, but can only manage to stay three or four hours per day, she said.

She calls St. Louis Police once per week. They give her few specifics, but assure her the investigation is moving in the right direction, she said.

The St. Louis Police Department is in charge of the investigation, but are working with both the Collinsville and Washington Park police departments, Wanda said. Although Hartsoe’s body was found in St. Louis, police are not yet sure if he was killed in St. Louis, Wanda said.

Hartsoe was last seen getting into a car with his roommate. Ahsley Hartsoe, Joe’s sister, said the roommate would speak with the family shortly after Hartsoe’s disappearance, but stopped returning phone calls.

The roommate told Collinsville police that he dropped Hartsoe off at a pawnshop in East St. Louis, Ashley said.  In early February, the Collinsville police had been unable to confirm that information, Detective Mark Kuechle said. St. Louis police will make no public comments on the investigation, so it is not clear if it was ever conclusively determined that Hartsoe was, or was not, at the pawnshop. The roommate is currently being held at a federal correctional facility in Chicago on charges unrelated to Hartsoe’s death.

When the group gathered on Dec. 30, Wanda said “somebody knows something, and they’re just not talking.”

Two and one-half months later, that still appears to be the case.