Jovanna Stacey Crawford was a sweet and quiet toddler, just three months shy of her second birthday, when she vanished from her home in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on June 5, 1981. That morning, her mother, Mary Corbin, left for work, entrusting Jovanna's care to her then-boyfriend, Ronald Garrett. Garrett was supposed to watch the little girl at their apartment in the P.T. Barnum Housing Project before taking her to her maternal great-grandmother, Mary Moales, who also lived in the complex and frequently babysat her. At around 10:20 a.m., however, the day took a bewildering turn. Garrett would later tell police a story that has remained the central, and most questioned, part of this case for decades.
According to Garrett, an unidentified boy, whom he described as being around 10 or 11 years old with small braids in his hair, came to the door. The boy allegedly said that Jovanna's great-grandmother had sent him to pick up the child. Garrett claimed he thought he recognized the boy from the neighborhood and, on that basis, allowed him to take the 21-month-old child. Jovanna, who was last seen wearing a blue and white jumpsuit, was never seen again. Her great-grandmother confirmed she never sent anyone to collect Jovanna, and no other residents of the housing project recalled seeing the boy Garrett described. The existence of this mysterious young boy has never been substantiated.
When Mary Corbin returned home from work at 5:00 p.m., she discovered her daughter was missing and immediately alerted the authorities. An investigation was launched, but it yielded few answers. Four days after Jovanna’s disappearance, Ronald Garrett was arrested for risk of injury to a minor for having given the toddler to an unknown child. He was ultimately convicted and served about ten months in prison, but his story about the young boy never changed. He has consistently maintained his innocence regarding Jovanna's disappearance. Foul play is suspected in the case, which is classified as a non-family abduction and remains Bridgeport's oldest active missing persons case. Over the years, Jovanna's mother has held onto the hope that her daughter might still be alive somewhere, perhaps unaware of her true identity. The case of Jovanna Stacey Crawford is a distressing mystery, centered on the unverified account of a young boy and leaving a family with unanswered questions for decades.
Last Seen: Jun 5, 1981
