Missing
Victoria Marie Salisz
Victoria, approximately 1988
Date and time person was reported missing : 04/15/1988
Missing location (approx) :
Boyne Valley Township, Michigan
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
White
Age at the time of disappearance: 69 years old
Height / Weight : 5'5, 165 pounds
Description, clothing, jewerly and more : A maroon or rust-colored full-length coat, brown pants and a tightly knitted hat with a brim.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian female. Graying brown hair, brown eyes. Victoria wears eyeglasses. Three of her teeth are missing and she has fillings in several teeth. Her nickname is Vicky, and her maiden name is Kush.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Victoria was last seen by her brother-in-law, walking in the backyard of her home on DeNise Road in Boyne Valley Township, Michigan on April 15, 1988. She lived with her husband, who suffered from memory lapses, so the date she was last seen is considered somewhat tentative. Her boss at the Pippin’s Restaurant in Boyne City, Michigan, where she worked as a waitress, called the police after Victoria didn't show up for work three days in a row.
Investigators went to her house and saw Victoria's car in the driveway and her purse and keys on the dining room table, but she was gone. She has never been heard from again. Her family suggested she might have gone to Detroit, Michigan to visit friends, but police thought it was suspicious that her car and belongings were left behind.
Authorities believe Victoria's son, Stephen Salisz Jr., may know more than he has said about what happened to his mother. He was reportedly camping in the woods behind her home, boiling sap into maple syrup and looking for mushrooms, at the time of her disappearance.
In January 1991, a grand jury began investigating Victoria's disappearance, and Stephen was called to testify. He refused to appear in court and dropped out of sight with his girlfriend, Beth Webb. They armed themselves with weapons including homemade grenades and left on their mountain bikes. Stephen was held in contempt for his non-appearance in court. In February, the police found him and Webb and when they tried to arrest them, the couple attacked them. Stephen and Webb were arrested after a one-hour standoff.
Both were initially ruled incompetent to stand trial. On the witness stand, during his competency hearing, Stephen claimed he was a Green Beret and a secret CIA operative tasks with helping protect the United States, and that his mother was a Nazi and Nazis had invaded the country. Stephen and Webb were ruled competent after getting treatment in a secure psychiatric facility, and ultimately they were convicted of numerous charges, including assault and resisting arrest. They served time in prison, but never offered any information on Victoria's disappearance.
Victoria's case remains unsolved and is still under investigation.
Other information and links : ncy
Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office
231-547-4461
September 2021 updates and sources
The Petoskey News-Review
WPBN TV
Porchlight International for the Missing and Unidentified
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are not known. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2�5% of missing children in Europe.
By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Several organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and imAge at the time of disappearance: s of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.
9 & 10 News
The Detroit Free Press
The Lansing State Journal
October 12, 2004. November 2, 2020; Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
