MI TASIA KEATON: Missing from Dearborn Heights, MI - 14 March 2025 - Age 16

‘She may not think we care, but we do’: Flint family of missing teen pleads for her safe return​

A reward has increased as the concern grows from Dearborn Heights police, assisting agencies, and the family of 16-year-old Tasia Keaton.

The teen has been missing since March 14, 2025, and there is information that suggests that sex trafficking may be occurring.

“We have started thinking maybe the worst,” said Trisha Wade, the teen’s aunt. “I worry that she may not even be in the country or even alive.”

Dearborn Heights police said the teen, who has had a troubled life — with a history of running away, being sexually assaulted, and even trafficked — ran away from the Vista Maria facility for vulnerable youth in Dearborn Heights on March 14, 2025.

According to multiple sources, she took off with a 12-year-old girl with cognitive delays.

Then, a man picked up the two girls in a dark sedan, brought them to a hotel in the area, and gave them alcohol and drugs.

Sources told Local 4 that “John” attempted to sexually assault the 12-year-old, but Tasia reportedly took the abuse instead.

While the 12-year-old is now safe, Dearborn Heights police Chief Ahmed Haidar said they believe Tasia has been sexually assaulted at least twice since she’s been missing.

She was known to be in the Detroit area on Stout Street and was last seen on surveillance video on March 17, 2025, at a Marathon gas station at the corner of Beech Daly and Joy Road in Dearborn Heights.

But since that sighting, there has been no contact with family or other sightings.

Police said she has also not been active on any social media accounts and fears she could be being held against her will.

“Who knows where she’s living, who knows who she’s living with, who knows who’s got her — who knows what they’re doing,” said Chief Haidar.

Trisha Wade, who lives in Flint, said the teen is originally from Tennessee and had a father in and out of jail.

Tasia also lost her mother not long after a cancerous brain tumor diagnosis a few years ago.

“Tasia moved in with me in July of 2022 because her mother got worse. She passed away on Thanksgiving in 2022,” Wade said.

Around 14 years old at the time, her aunt said Tasia began getting into fights and kept getting suspended from school.

She later met an older man while playing the video game Fortnite online and ended up in Ohio.

The man, according to the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, is 36-year-old Greg Nieman and has since been charged with grooming and sexually assaulting the teen.

Tasia’s family said they are praying the teen sees that she has people concerned and comes home safely.

Her sisters and my mom are worried,” Trisha Wade said. “She may not think we care, but we do.”

Search for Tasia Keaton: Dearborn Heights police seeking volunteers finding missing teen​

Dearborn Heights police held a press conference on Thursday urging the public for help find a teen that’s been missing for over a month.

Tasia Keaton, 16, has been missing since March 14, 2025, and there is information that suggests that sex trafficking may be occurring.


A $5,500 reward is now being offered for information. Anyone with information about Tasia Keaton or her disappearance is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or the Dearborn Heights Police Department at 1-313-277-6770.


Dearborn Heights police said they “have no leads” regarding Keaton’s case.

However, following Local 4 Erika Erickson’s story that aired Wednesday night, police said they received some tips. They plan on following up on those tips Thursday afternoon.

The police department is asking for volunteers in canvassing the area to find Keaton. Supplies will be provided at the police station for anyone interested in spreading information about Keaton’s disappearance.

Dearborn Heights police raising concerns about challenges at facility teen reportedly ran away from​

Dearborn Heights police are raising serious concerns about the ongoing challenges at the Vista Maria facility for vulnerable youth, where 16-year-old missing teen Tasia Keaton reportedly ran from.

Local 4 is told law enforcement has responded to a growing number of calls in recent years and there are two active investigations regarding allegations of inappropriate behavior by a staff member.

“In 2024 alone, we’ve had 368 calls for service at that location,” Chief Haidar said. “These include assault and battery, fights, staff being assaulted, and juveniles out of control. Our officers have used force in some cases, and we’ve seen injuries ranging from fingers to backs and ankles. It’s a major drain on our manpower.”

The chief noted a disturbing trend over the past few years. “I really don’t know why it’s gotten worse, but it could be staffing issues or hiring unqualified, untrained individuals. I understand they might be taking on more than they can handle,” he said.

While police and federal agencies are working around the clock to find Tasia, sources say Dearborn Heights Police and Child Protective Services are investigating more troubling allegations involving a former staff member of the facility.

“We received tips about a male staff member potentially involved with juvenile residents,” Chief Haidar confirmed. “There’s a significant age difference, and we’re looking into possible assault.”

In addition to the local investigation, a separate jurisdiction is pursuing another case involving another teenage resident and the same former staff member.

Sources tell Local 4 the staff member was terminated after the facility discovered video of the male staff member picking up one of the teenage female residents in his own vehicle. Later, allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior surfaced, according to police.

The department believes Tasia may have been one of the victims.

“We need to get Tasia back, not just for her safety, but to speak with her about what happened, Chief Haidar said. “If these allegations are true, we will seek a warrant and make sure that individual is held accountable.”

Chief Haidar also said the public’s response has helped in their search.

“We’ve gotten tips that are leading us in the right direction. Hopefully, within the next 48 hours, we’ll have something solid,” he said. “Crime Stoppers tips are amazing. You can be anonymous. Don’t think your tip isn’t worth calling in. Call. Every tip matters.”

I feel terrible about what this young girl has been dealing with in her life. The fact that she was trying to protect the 12 year old in her own immature way shows she cares about others.

Isn't it great when children already are in a bad situation and then they go into a facility, foster care, adoption, etc. where they deal with even worse....? Things NEED to change. They won't though. No protection of the vulnerable at all.

Kimster said:

I feel terrible about what this young girl has been dealing with in her life. The fact that she was trying to protect the 12 year old in her own immature way shows she cares about others.

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Yes, that was NOTABLE. That she saved her.

‘A horror show’: Employees expose alleged abuse, neglect at Vista Maria following teen’s disappearance​

The conditions staff and teens are dealing with at Vista Maria, a residential facility for vulnerable youth, are under intense scrutiny as former and current employees speak to Local 4 about what they describe as a “living hell” and a “horror show.”

The concerns intensified following the disappearance of 16-year-old Tasia Keaton, a resident with a history of being abused and trafficked, who reportedly ran away from the facility over a month ago.

“This place is literally a living hell for the employees and the children,” one former staff member said.

That employee, who worked with Keaton at one point and asked to remain anonymous, said girls would go days without showers, meals were left out or skipped entirely, there were holes in many of the walls, black mold, boarded-up hallways, and ceilings caving in.

Dearborn Heights police say they’ve responded to 368 calls to Vista Maria in the past year alone.

And over the last five years, state records show a disturbing pattern of complaints — including incidents involving inappropriate physical contact, improper restraints, and failure to report assaults.

One report from just two months ago alleges a staff member hit a young resident in the face five times, and the incident was allegedly not appropriately reported.

In another case, a girl was hospitalized after claiming a staffer punched her in the lip and choked her.

“How they are training us to interact with these kids and what we’re supposed to do with these kids does not serve them anything,” a current employee said. “It’s more so a mental health facility or a lock up — a mini lock up, than it is a residential to help these youth get back into the environment.”

Yet, despite the complaints, a recent Michigan Department of Health and Human Services report found no violation in staffing sufficiency.

The current and former employees agreed the core issues appear to be poor training, inadequate oversight, and unsafe environments and they are being ignored.

“They’re hiring people off the street, or people who used to live at Vista Maria,” the former staffer said. “There are men grooming the girls, and they keep relationships with them even after they age out.”

Some allegations are even more serious, including reports of sexual relationships between male staff and teen residents.

Local 4 has learned of two ongoing investigations involving a former male employee and two residents.

Police are looking into whether that same staffer may have assaulted Keaton.

“If the allegations are true, we will seek out a warrant request for this individual,” said Chief Ahmed Haidar of the Dearborn Heights Police Department.

A current worker described the living conditions at Vista Maria as “inhumane,” and the other added: “There’s no structure. The girls run the place, it’s abusive for staff and for them.”

Those who’ve worked within the facility are now pleading for intervention from the state.

“I want them to go in and really ask themselves, would you allow your kid to live in this,” a current employee asked.

“Vista Maria needs to be investigated inside and out. Start with the girls that eat, sleep, and breathe inside Vista Maria daily,” said a former employee.

Despite the mounting concerns, Vista Maria declined to comment further on the accusations.

Local 4 has also reached out to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and is waiting to hear back.

Tasia Keaton search adds $8,000 reward as more allegations arise against Vista Maria facility​

An $8,000 cash reward is now being offered for information on the disappearance of 16-year-old Tasia Keaton, who reportedly ran away from Vista Maria, a Dearborn Heights facility for vulnerable youth, on March 14.

Dearborn Heights Police and assisting agencies are deeply concerned that she is in danger, as information has come to light that Keaton, who has a history of being sexually abused and trafficked, may be in a similar situation. And despite multiple credible tips in recent days, authorities have yet to locate her.


Sources tell Local 4 the facility has not been forthcoming with personal property and information that would have assisted investigators on the case, and has not been cooperative in disclosing “vital” information in “a timely manner.”

“It has absolutely impeded the process of finding Tasia. Without question,” investigative sources said.


Statement from Vista Maria on April 17, 2025:

“At Vista Maria, the safety and well-being of the youth and families we serve is our top priority.

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.

Vista Maria has a 142-year history of providing trauma-informed care, mental health stabilization, foster care services, and education for youth who have experienced trauma."

Anyone with information about this case should contact Dearborn Heights Police at 313-277-6770, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP, or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678."

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