A Highland Park family has spent the last 35 years wondering what happened to their loved one, Joann Mason. On April 25, 1983, Joanne, who was 19, left the house and went to the corner store with a girlfriend to get some food. It was the last time the family saw her.
"Whatever you all can do to help us out... dead or alive... we need to know," said Charlie Mason, Joann's mom. "We need to know."
Charlie says the young lady with Joann said some guys drove up in a car and one of them got out, then Joann was seen walking down Glendale with him.
That man was Joann's ex-boyfriend, Charlie said. She added that he'd physically abused Joann several times and that's why Joann ended their relationship.
She says her daughter would never have left willingly and not come back to her family – especially her young son, Laron.
"He always said he felt like she was dead because she would not tell him that 'I'll be back' and not come back," Charlie said.
Joann's family says Highland Park police didn't come up with any leads in her disappearance. The family says they did their own detective work and tried finding out what happened from Joann's ex-boyfriend. They even talked to his kids, but they didn't get anywhere. Then, several years ago, they say that ex-boyfriend died.
Jaquela Mason was just 3 years old when her Aunt Joann died. She's also been on a crusade to find the truth.
"I got stuck at a standstill until I went to Highland Park (police) and told them, 'Hey, you have to reopen this case. This can't just be a shut case. We need closure. We need to know,'" Jaquela said.
She talked to Detective Paul Thomas, a veteran detective who's been with the Highland Park Police Department for ten years. He agreed to reopen the case, but sadly, whatever work may have been done on it decades ago is also a mystery. He says the files were among many lost over the years.
"At this point, it's going to comprise of finding people on the street that might have been around at that time," Thomas said.
They'll also work to track down family and friends of Joann's ex-boyfriend, he added. Thomas said he believes the boyfriend had something to do with her disappearance.
"I base that on the type of street environment there is out here, and the person she was in a romantic relationship with," Thomas said. "None of that looks good for her being alive."
After Joann vanished, her mom Charlie eventually got custody of Laron. Joann now has five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren she's never known.
Her loved ones are desperate to find out what happened and bring her home.
"Where is my aunt? That's my main concern," Jaqueela said. "If she's dead, where's her body so we can bury her correctly?"
If you know anything about what happened to Joann Mason, please call Highland Park Police.
