JoAnn Vanessa Mason was 19 when she left her Highland Park, Michigan, home on Buena Vista Street for a short walk to a corner store at Hamilton and Glendale avenues on April 25, 1983, and never returned. A college student and devoted mother to a young son, she was described as a Black female, 5 feet 4 inches, about 120 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and pierced ears.

Witnesses reported that JoAnn’s ex-boyfriend and other men drove up near the store; the ex-boyfriend exited the vehicle and JoAnn was last seen walking with him down Glendale. Another witness said a man approached her near the store and they walked away together. The ex-boyfriend had a prior history of allegedly kidnapping and severely beating JoAnn, which required hospitalization; he was never officially named a suspect and has since died.

The original investigative files have reportedly been lost, many potential witnesses and the primary person of interest have died, and the case has gone cold. The Highland Park Police Department lists the investigation as ongoing and no arrests have been announced. Does anyone have information about JoAnn’s movements that day or remember seeing her near Hamilton and Glendale on April 25, 1983?