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Joan Vanessa Mason

Missing
Case Description
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Joan Vanessa Mason, a 19-year-old college student and devoted mother to a young son, vanished on April 25, 1983, from Highland Park, Michigan. She was last seen leaving her residence on Buena Vista Street to walk to a nearby corner store at Hamilton and Glendale avenues to purchase items for herself and her four-year-old son. When she failed to return home as darkness fell, her family grew concerned, noting that it was highly uncharacteristic for her to abandon her child, to whom she was very de ...Read More
Last Seen: Apr 25, 1983
Links to Additional Sources (9)
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  • Highland Park Police reopen Joann Mason case - WXYZ
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    Victim Details

    Jan 27, 2026

    Jan 27, 2026

    Joan

    Vanessa Mason

    19

    19

    5'4 inches

    120 lbs

    Black

    Female

    Mason was last seen in Highland, Michigan on April 25, 1983. She went for a walk to the corner store, never returned and has never been heard from again. She was attending college at the time of her disappearance, and it's uncharacteristic of her to leave without warning or abandon her son, whom she was devoted to. A witness reported seeing a man approaching Mason near the store, but the man has never been identified. She did have an abusive former boyfriend; shortly before her disappearance, he had kidnapped her and beaten her so badly she had to be hospitalized. Mason's ex-boyfriend has never been named as a suspect in her case, however, and her disappearance remains unsolved.

    Apr 25, 1983

    Highland

    Michigan

    Highland

    11

    Highland Park Police Departmen

    313-252-0050

    01/27/2026

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