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Last updated 8:51 am CT February 09, 2010.

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Cairo City Attorney Missing

Union County -- Attorney Patrick Cox and his wife Donna have not been seen for days and the Union County State's Attorney says Mr. Cox may have made off with more than 100 thousand dollars.

According to a civil suit, Cox placed the money in his trust account. The money came from the sale of the Tip Top Tap bar in Cobden. It was sold by the owners during their divorce. State's Attorney Allen James says his department and the ISP are investigating.

State's Attorney Allen James says no one has seen them for days, and Mr. Cox recently missed a court appearance.
James said, "It's unusual for him not to be around, not to make his court appearances, so we're concerned." Besides recently serving as the Cairo City Attorney, Cox also ran against James a few years ago. In the past Cox was the public defender in Union County, during which he was charged for contributing to the criminal delinquency of a minor and official misconduct for asking a minor to secretly record a conversation.

These latest allegations paint a grim picture of Mr. Cox, accusing him of being hung-over and having to be assisted out of bed the day of the sale of the bar. The money that was supposed to pay off the mortgage, but allegedly bounced. James says they are more concerned about making sure nothing bad has happened to the couple. No formal charges have been filed against Patrick Cox.

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