Dearborn Heights police seek public's help in locating missing 16-year-old
Police in Dearborn Heights and nearby Michigan communities are seeking tips from the public in the search for a missing 16-year-old.
Tasia Keaton ran away on March 14. She was last seen three days later via security video that placed her at Joy Road and Beech Daly Road, Dearborn Heights Police Chief Ahmed Haidar said Thursday.
But there has been no information about her since.
Concern has been increasing over Keaton's whereabouts, and a total reward of $5,500 has now been made available through the support of Dearborn Heights and Crime Stoppers.
"Please, you're not in any trouble. Just contact us. We'll come get you," he said, addressing an appeal to the teen.
Keaton left the Vista Maria campus in Dearborn Heights on March 14.
"At Vista Maria, the safety and well-being of the youth and families we serve is our top priority," Vista Maria said in a statement. "We alerted police immediately on March 14 when Tasia Keaton left our property and initiated the search for her. We have been working with law enforcement ever since to help ensure her safe return. Our hearts go out to her aunt and the rest of her family during this difficult time."
The teen's family said she had been at the facility for over a year before she ran away. Police say she ran away with another girl from the facility. The other girl has since been found.
"I want to tell her I'm not mad she ran off, I just want her somewhere safe," said Tasia's aunt, Trisha Wade.
Security video and tips have pieced together a timeline for the next couple of days in which she hung out on Joy Road, despite the bad weather at the time, and slept in a shed.
The police chief said she was picked up and returned to that area, then a day later, picked up and returned again. On both occasions, police said, they believe the teen was sexually assaulted at hotels. One of those sites was a hotel in Redford.
And she was last seen on the security video along Joy Road.
"As a police department, we've come to a dead end," the chief said.
Officers do think she is still in the Wayne County area and hasn't left the state.
Family members told police that Keaton tends to change her hair color and style frequently. However, she was described as a White female, 5 feet and 3 inches tall, about 130 pounds.
Wade says whoever is helping keep the teen on the run needs to take accountability.
"They need to turn her in, and if they are doing anything to her, they are the most disgusting thing ever," she said.
Police ask that anyone with tips on her whereabouts call the department's non-emergency line at 313-277-6770.
