In the summer of 1999, a young, 25-year-old mother of four named Mary Lisa Smith disappeared from Manitoba, leaving her family searching for answers for decades to come. The exact date of her disappearance is uncertain, believed to be between August 8 and her birthday on August 17. She was last reportedly seen on August 8, 1999, in Selkirk, Manitoba, after she discharged herself from the Selkirk Mental Health Centre.
Following her departure from the facility, Mary made her way to Winnipeg to stay with her niece on Thames Avenue. The last confirmed sighting of Mary was when her niece saw her get into a black, four-door sedan; Mary told her niece she would be back in an hour but never returned.
At the time she went missing, Mary Lisa Smith was described as being four feet, ten inches tall and weighing between 90 and 95 pounds. She had brown, shoulder-length hair, brown eyes, and was known to wear glasses. Distinctive tattoos marked her body: a unicorn on her left hand, a flower that was either a poinsettia or an orchid on her right hand, and a heart on her upper right arm. Mary was a citizen of the Roseau River First Nation. Her family has noted that it was highly out of character for her to not be in contact with them. Mary was considered vulnerable at the time of her disappearance; she was reportedly suffering from head trauma sustained during an assault a few years prior, in 1995, and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, which required her to take medication.
Over the years, the investigation into Mary's disappearance has continued, handled by the Manitoba First Nations Police Service, formerly the Dakota Ojibway Police Service. There were reports that she might have traveled to the Vancouver area, but these sightings were never confirmed. Despite public pleas for information as recently as 2020, her case has grown cold. No evidence of foul play has been officially reported, and investigators have expressed hope that she might still be out there. The case of Mary Lisa Smith is a lingering story of uncertainty, leaving a family without closure. Her disappearance remains an open investigation, a painful reminder of a young mother who vanished, leaving behind her children and a family who has never stopped searching for her.Last Seen: Aug 8, 1999
