Natasha Marie Shanes, known as Tasha, was six years old when she disappeared from her family’s home in the 900 block of Maple Avenue in Jackson, Michigan, during the early morning hours of May 5, 1985. Her mother, Susan Shanes, had fallen asleep on the living room sofa; sometime between about 1:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. the front door was found wide open and Natasha was gone. Police classified the case as a non-family abduction after an extensive neighborhood search produced no confirmed sightings, clothing, or other evidence to show where she went.

Natasha was described as about four feet tall and 57 pounds, with brown eyes and light brown or strawberry-blond hair. Distinguishing marks included a scar on her right cheek from a dog bite, a small forehead scar, pierced ears, and a strawberry-colored birthmark on the back of her neck. She had epilepsy, scoliosis, flat feet, and a developmental level closer to a four-year-old; she required Depakote daily to control seizures.

Two days after Natasha vanished, the family’s live-in boyfriend, Robert F. Forbes, was found dead of a gunshot wound in a death ruled a suicide. No definitive link between that death and Natasha’s disappearance has been reported.

If anyone knew Natasha, her routines, or saw unusual activity in that area on the night of May 4–5, 1985, please share what you know.