In the spring of 1988, in the quiet community of Boyne Falls, Michigan, 69-year-old Victoria Marie Salisz, known affectionately as Vicky, vanished. The last known sighting of her was on April 15, 1988, when her brother-in-law saw her walking in the backyard of her DeNise Road home. The date, however, is considered tentative as she lived with her husband who experienced memory lapses.
Concern grew when Vicky, a dependable waitress at Pippin's Restaurant in nearby Boyne City, failed to show up for her shifts for three consecutive days. Her boss reported her missing, prompting an investigation by the Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office. When authorities arrived at her residence, they found a scene that was both ordinary and unsettling. Her car was parked in the driveway, and inside the house, her purse and keys were left on the dining room table, yet Victoria was nowhere to be found. At the time of her disappearance, she was described as a white female with graying brown hair and brown eyes, standing at 5'5' and weighing around 165 pounds. She wore eyeglasses and was last seen in a rust or maroon-colored full-length coat, brown pants, and a tightly knitted hat with a brim.
The investigation into Victoria's disappearance soon turned towards her son, Stephen Salisz Jr., who was reportedly camping in the woods behind his mother's home around the time she went missing. Authorities believed he might hold more information about her fate than he was revealing. In January 1991, a grand jury was convened to investigate the case, and Stephen was called to testify. He refused to appear and subsequently disappeared with his girlfriend, Beth Webb, arming themselves with weapons, including homemade grenades. After being found a month later, a tense one-hour standoff with police ensued, leading to their arrest. During his competency hearing, Stephen made bizarre claims, stating he was a Green Beret on a secret CIA mission to protect the U.S. from a Nazi invasion, and that his mother was a Nazi.
Despite being treated at a psychiatric facility and eventually being deemed competent to stand trial, both Stephen and his girlfriend were convicted on multiple charges, including assault and resisting arrest, and served prison time. However, neither ever provided any information regarding Victoria's disappearance. Over the years, the case grew cold, though law enforcement continued to pursue any leads. In October 2020, the FBI joined the investigation, offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that could lead to solving the case. This renewed effort has reportedly generated some promising new leads. The overview of this case is one of enduring mystery and unanswered questions. Victoria Salisz, a grandmotherly figure well-liked by those who knew her, vanished without a trace from her own property. The suspicious circumstances, including her personal belongings being left behind and the subsequent actions of her son, have led investigators to believe that she met with foul play. Despite the passage of decades and the lack of resolution, the investigation into her disappearance remains open.
Victoria Marie Salisz, known to many people in her community as “Vicky,” was a 69-year-old female who was last seen on April 15, 1988, near her home on DeNise Road in Boyne Valley Township, outside Boyne Falls, Michigan. She had worked that day as a waitress at Pippin’s Restaurant in nearby Boyne City before driving home at the end of her shift. Her brother-in-law later reported seeing her walking in the yard around the family residence. Because Victoria lived with a husband who suffered from memory lapses, investigators could not establish every detail of her final hours with certainty, and the precise time at which she disappeared remains unknown. What is clear is that she was expected back at the restaurant but failed to report for several consecutive shifts, an absence so unlike her that a concerned coworker contacted authorities.
When deputies reached Victoria’s home, they found a scene that suggested she had not planned to travel or abandon her life. Her vehicle was still parked in its customary place near the residence, with some accounts reporting that its keys remained in the ignition. Inside the house, investigators located her purse, driver’s license, health-insurance card and other personal papers. Nothing publicly reported indicated that she had packed clothing, withdrawn money, arranged transportation or told anyone that she intended to leave. Family members suggested that Victoria might have gone to Detroit to visit friends, but investigators found it difficult to believe that she would make such a trip without her car, identification, purse or other essential belongings. She never arrived for work again, never contacted friends or relatives and was never reliably seen after that April day.
Victoria was described as a white woman who stood approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighed about 165 pounds. She had gray or partially gray hair, brown eyes and wore eyeglasses. Dental information indicated that she was missing several teeth and had fillings in others, details that could help distinguish her from other missing or unidentified people. She may have been wearing a rust- or maroon-colored full-length down coat, brown pants and a tightly knitted hat with a brim when she disappeared. Her age, the rural setting around her home and the sudden abandonment of all her personal property led investigators to view her disappearance as highly suspicious rather than a voluntary departure.
An intensive search followed, concentrating on the land around Victoria’s residence and the wooded areas of Boyne Valley Township. Deputies, volunteers and others examined the surrounding terrain, but no clothing, personal effects, remains or other physical evidence was found that could show where she had gone. The initial search reportedly continued in various forms for months without producing a clear trail. The landscape around the property contained woods and secluded ground where evidence could be difficult to locate, especially as seasons passed and vegetation changed. Despite the effort, investigators were left without a confirmed crime scene and without proof that Victoria had ever traveled beyond the immediate area.
Attention eventually turned toward Victoria’s son, Stephen Salisz Jr., and his girlfriend, Beth Webb. At the time of Victoria’s disappearance, the couple were reportedly staying or camping in the woods behind the family property, where Stephen was boiling maple sap and gathering mushrooms. Authorities came to believe that he might possess information about what happened to his mother, although he was not charged with causing her disappearance. His presence so close to the home made him an important person for investigators to question, particularly because Victoria appeared to have vanished shortly after returning from work and because her belongings remained undisturbed inside the residence.
In January 1991, a special grand jury began examining Victoria’s disappearance and sought testimony from Stephen. Rather than appear as directed, he refused to cooperate and left the area with Webb. The pair reportedly armed themselves with firearms and homemade explosive devices before traveling into the countryside on mountain bikes. Stephen was held in contempt for failing to appear. Police located the couple the following month, but an attempt to take them into custody developed into an armed confrontation that lasted approximately an hour. Both were arrested and later convicted of crimes connected to the standoff, including assaultive and resisting behavior, but the confrontation did not reveal what had happened to Victoria.
Questions also arose about Stephen’s mental condition. During competency proceedings, he reportedly made bizarre claims that he was a Green Beret and a secret operative working for the Central Intelligence Agency. He also described his mother as a Nazi and spoke of conspiracies involving an invasion of the country. Stephen and Webb were initially found incompetent to stand trial before later legal proceedings moved forward. Both eventually served prison sentences related to the confrontation with police. Despite the grand-jury inquiry and repeated interest from investigators, neither provided information that resolved Victoria’s disappearance, and no evidence was developed that allowed authorities to bring homicide charges against anyone.
Over the following years, investigators continued to receive occasional leads. A person sent the sheriff’s office unsigned letters presenting a theory about Victoria’s disappearance, one during the original investigation and another many years later. The sheriff believed the theory contained enough logic to warrant attention and publicly asked the writer to come forward, but the person’s identity and the substance of the letters were not disclosed. No publicly reported development arising from the correspondence led investigators to Victoria or identified the person responsible for her disappearance.
The case received renewed investigative attention in 2019, more than three decades after Victoria vanished. The Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office announced plans to search and excavate several locations, including portions of the former Salisz property. Investigators hoped that improved techniques and a fresh review of old information might reveal something missed during the original searches. A dig was conducted after authorities received information suggesting that evidence or remains might be located there, but the effort did not produce Victoria’s body or a publicly announced breakthrough. The lack of a recovery did not persuade investigators that she had left voluntarily; instead, it reinforced the difficulty of finding physical evidence in a rural case after so many years.
By 2020, the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office was openly describing the investigation as a suspected homicide. Officials said that the totality of the circumstances led them to believe Victoria had been killed, even though her remains had not been recovered and the manner of her presumed death could not be established. The Federal Bureau of Investigation joined local authorities in renewing the public appeal, and a reward of up to $5,000 was offered for information leading to the recovery of Victoria’s body and the arrest of the person responsible. Investigators emphasized that advances in DNA testing, forensic genealogy and other technology had solved many old cases and could someday help resolve Victoria’s disappearance if new evidence were found.
Those who remembered Victoria described a quiet, caring woman with a grandmotherly manner. She had spent years serving customers at the restaurant and was known for looking after coworkers and patrons without seeking attention for herself. Her dependable nature was one of the reasons her failure to appear for work caused such immediate concern. A woman who routinely fulfilled her responsibilities had vanished without collecting her purse or taking her vehicle, leaving behind a household that offered no reasonable explanation for her absence. The people who worked alongside her and lived in the small surrounding community were left with the unsettling knowledge that someone familiar to them had disappeared from her own property without a trace.
Victoria’s family provided genetic reference material to assist with comparisons against unidentified remains. Samples from maternal relatives were initially collected, and a DNA sample from her son was later completed and entered into national systems. These profiles allow investigators to test whether unidentified remains discovered elsewhere could belong to Victoria. Her case remains recorded in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System as MP2282, while the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office continues to hold the primary investigative responsibility under case number 115-2128-88.
No one has been arrested or charged with killing Victoria, and investigators have not publicly identified a proven suspect. Stephen Salisz Jr. has long been considered someone who may know more than he disclosed, but suspicion and unusual behavior do not establish criminal responsibility. The available evidence has not been sufficient to show exactly when Victoria was harmed, where her body was placed or who was responsible. Her husband’s memory difficulties, the delayed recognition that she was missing and the absence of physical evidence all complicated efforts to reconstruct her final hours.
The disappearance has endured as one of Charlevoix County’s most troubling cold cases because Victoria appeared to vanish from the familiar surroundings of her home while nearly everything she would have needed for a journey remained behind. Investigators continue to hope that someone who heard a confession, observed activity near the property or withheld information out of fear or loyalty will finally speak. Even after decades, a remembered vehicle, an unusual excavation, a private conversation or knowledge of a concealed location could provide the clue needed to recover her remains and bring answers to those who cared about her. In overview, Victoria Marie Salisz returned home from her restaurant job and was last seen walking in her yard near Boyne Falls on April 15, 1988; after she missed work, police found her car and personal belongings at home, extensive searches and later excavations failed to locate her, authorities came to believe she was the victim of a homicide, and although her son has long been believed to possess possible information, no person has been charged and Victoria has never been found.Last Seen: Apr 15, 1988
