Brenda Maria Jackson, a 31-year-old mother of six and an Iraq War veteran, went missing from her Park Forest, Illinois home after the evening of January 3, 2016. Her father dropped her at the house in the 200 block of Acadia Street that night and she later called her mother to say she was home alone. She did not show up for a 5:30 a.m. shift in a high school cafeteria the next morning, and family members reported her missing on January 5, 2016.

Many of Brenda’s personal items were left inside the house, including her purse, identification, and coat. There was no activity on her cell phone or credit cards after she was last seen. Family and friends searched nearby forest preserve areas, and the Park Forest Police used K-9 units and checked vacant buildings but found no evidence explaining her disappearance or indicating a crime.

Brenda is described as a Hispanic female, about five feet tall and 125 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Distinctive marks include stars behind both ears trailing down her neck, the name Michael on her right wrist, a lower back tattoo, and burn scars on her chest and upper leg. Does anyone who knew Brenda or was in Park Forest in early January 2016 have information that could help locate her?