Natasha Marie Shanes

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Jackson Police Department Mi (MI)

Missing From:

Jackson, MI

Summary:

Natasha Marie Shanes was 6 years old when she disappeared from her home on Maple Avenue in Jackson, Michigan on May 5, 1985. She was last seen asleep on the sofa and vanished between 1:30 and 6:00 a.m. after her mother heard a car door slamming outside. She has never been found. The case remains unsolved and classified as a non-family abduction, with police conducting searches as recently as 2023.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

Natasha was last seen asleep on the sofa in the living room of her family's home in the 900 block of Maple Avenue in Jackson, Michigan. Her mother awoke in the early morning hours of May 8, 1985 to the sound of a car door slamming outside. She fell back asleep and awoke again at 6:00 a.m. Natasha's mother discovered that her daughter was missing from their residence at that time. One of the doors to their house was wide open and there was no trace of Natasha. It is believed Natasha disappeared between 1:30 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Upon arriving on scene, investigators were unable to find any signs of forced entry into the house. Natasha's mother was awakened in the night by the sound of a car door slamming outside of the family's home in Jackson, but then she fell back asleep.

Additional Details:

Natasha's mother's live-in boyfriend, Robert F. Forbes, was found shot to death near his own mother's house two days after Natasha disappeared. His death was ruled a suicide, but there is some suspicion that he was murdered. Forbes was a drug dealer and had served a prison sentence for trafficking heroin. Authorities do not believe his crimes or his death are necessarily related to Natasha's case, however. Over the years, the missing persons case went slowly cold. Age progression pictures of Natasha were released periodically in the hope that someone might recognise her, but no leads ever came in. In April, after the case sat idle since at least 2011 according to police records, the Jackson Police Department received a tip that Natasha's remains might be buried on the grounds of a Jackson residence or hidden inside the home. After obtaining a search warrant, and with the help of a Michigan State Police unit and heavy digging equipment, Hitt's officers dug on the property and searched the home. They found nothing identified as human remains, Hitt said. At the time of Natasha's disappearance, she attended a special education school for children with disabilities. She cried often and had mood swings, and she enjoyed playing with makeup, singing, and playing with purses and shoes. Police said they didn't find any signs of forced entry, and they ruled the case a non-family abduction.

Case Last Updated:

Apr 16, 2026