On the festive night of New Year's Eve, December 31, 1990, 34-year-old Vanessa L. Smith was celebrating in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was seen at the Ambassador Hotel, located in the 2300 block of West Wisconsin Avenue, but as the night turned to the new year, Vanessa vanished. She has not been seen or heard from since that night. For months, her absence went unreported to the authorities, a painful silence in the lives of those who knew her.
It wasn't until July 25, 1991, that her aunt officially reported her as a missing person, deeply concerned that no one had been in contact with her since the holiday.
The circumstances surrounding Vanessa's disappearance are clouded with uncertainty. She was reportedly with her boyfriend at the Ambassador Hotel. This individual, later described as her former boyfriend, was arrested and detained in connection with her disappearance. He told investigators that he had last seen Vanessa on January 1, 1991. According to his statement, he saw her call a cab company and then walked her to the exit of his apartment building. However, he claimed he did not actually see her get into the cab and could not provide the name of the cab company. In another account, a cousin stated he was the last family member to see her, dropping her off at a bus stop on the morning of January 1, 1991.
Vanessa is described as an African American woman, standing at 5'1" and weighing around 130 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. She was known to frequently wear light-colored wigs. Distinctive physical features include several scars on her face, abdomen, lip, neck, left finger, and near her left eye. Her maiden name is Blacks, and she had been known to travel to California in the past. Over the decades, her case has grown cold, with very little information emerging to provide clarity on what happened to her. The conflicting stories and the lack of solid leads have left her family grappling with unanswered questions, and the investigation into her disappearance remains unresolved.Last Seen: Dec 31, 1990
