ST. CHARLES – Stephanie McNeil is frustrated that five years have passed, and she still doesn't know what happened to her brother, St. Charles resident John Spira.

So she recently hired a private investigator, Matthew Hale, of the Naperville-based Illinois Investigative Solutions Inc., to look into his disappearance.

"There needs to be more investigation," McNeil said. "I don't know what he will find, but I hope he solves the case."

McNeil said she believes her brother was murdered. Spira, 45, last was seen Feb. 23, 2007, at Universal Cable Construction near West Chicago, which Spira co-owned.

"I'm hoping he can find out who did this and where John is at," McNeil said.

McNeil, who lives in Arizona, returned to St. Charles in February to post "missing" posters on the windows of downtown businesses in an attempt to make sure Spira's name stays in the news.

Hale said he hopes to find some answers.

"It's an interesting case," Hale said. "You've got a guy whose life seems to be going well, and he disappears. I'm going to dig pretty hard. We'll see what comes up."

The case has gathered worldwide attention. Spira's disappearance was featured in 2010 as part of the Investigation Discovery cable show, "Disappeared."

Hale wants to know what leads the DuPage County Sheriff's Office has investigated. He has filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking their records on the case.

"I don't know what the police have done and haven't done," Hale said.

A spokesman for the Sheriff's Office could not be reached for comment.