Andover attorney dressed for court as usual Tuesday. Then he went missing.

Andover police have located the body of Todd Allison.

ORIGINAL STORY

When attorney Todd Allison went to work Tuesday morning, co-workers say he didn’t give any indication he wouldn’t finish the work day.

But between the time Allison left his law office in downtown Wichita on Tuesday morning and a scheduled appearance in Harper County District Court early that afternoon, something happened.

Allison didn’t make it to court. His car ended up back in the driveway of his Andover home, and by the time his wife got off work, he was gone.

Andover police said in a news release about Allison’s disappearance that his family is worried. Allison, 49, has four children.

Natasha Busby, a paralegal for Allison’s law partner, Sarah Newell, has worked around him for 10 years, and she said for him to leave without warning would be completely out of character. She said he’s well-liked by his colleagues. Friends from across the state have been posting prayers and well-wishes on Facebook hoping for a safe return.

No one seems to know where he went or if anything happened to him. Police said Wednesday that they believe he left his home voluntarily and that they do not suspect foul play.

According to his colleagues, Allison got to his office Tuesday morning around 8:30. He was dressed in his suit as if prepared for court that afternoon.

Allison wasn’t acting out of the ordinary, Busby said.

At 8:50 a.m., Busby said Allison left his downtown Wichita office, near Douglas and Water. On his way out, he told his legal secretary he was “headed to Harper County for criminal court.”

Thirty-five minutes later, Allison sent an email to his legal secretary with work details for the day.

That’s the last anyone at the law offices heard from Allison, Busby said Thursday.

At 1:50 p.m., a court representative from Harper County called the office and said Allison missed a 1:30 p.m. court appearance.

He did not respond to phone calls, voicemails, text messages or emails from his co-workers, Busby said.

“Because of the weather, I thought that maybe he had been in a car accident,” Busby said.

Law enforcement did not have a record of any car accident involving Allison, Busby said, so she contacted Allison’s wife, a kindergarten teacher in Andover, at work.

When Allison’s wife got home, she found his car in the driveway and expected to find him inside, Busby said. But he was gone.

That’s when she called police. Allison’s wife was not immediately available for comment Thursday.

Andover police said in a statement Wednesday that Allison was “last known to be on foot in the area of Greenvalley and Central in Andover,” near his home. He is thought to have been wearing a maroon T-shirt with the “Cheers” logo on the chest, khaki cargo shorts and brown leather sandals, police said.

Andover police have not commented further on Allison’s disappearance and did not immediately return calls Thursday afternoon.

Busby said all calls to Allison have gone straight to his voicemail since Tuesday.

When someone calls Allison’s work phone and leaves a message, that message goes to his email, Busby said. He usually responds to those emails, saying he received them. Busby said he did not do that on Tuesday or since.

“We are hoping that he comes back safe and sound,” Busby said. “We are very concerned about his welfare right now.”

“He’s very personable, likeable, professional attorney,” Busby said. “He likes a good attorney joke. He’s never raised his voice in anger. He takes things in stride. He always appeared to be very focused. He’s very attentive to his clients and their needs.”

Andover police ask anyone with information on Allison’s whereabouts to call 316-733-5177.

This story was originally published September 6, 2018 at 3:36 PM.