Missing
Viola Brown Martin
Viola, approximately 2009
Date and time person was reported missing : 12/26/2009
Missing location (approx) :
Glenwood, Illinois
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
Black
Age at the time of disappearance: 56 years old
Height / Weight : 5'0, 160 pounds
Medical conditions : Viola is a recovering drug addict. She had been clean for many years prior to her disappearance.
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: African-American female. Light brown hair, brown eyes. Martin has a gap between her two front teeth. Her ears are both pierced in the lobes and one ear has an upper cartilAge at the time of disappearance: piercing.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Viola was last seen leaving the Glenwood, Illinois residence of her adult daughter, Angela Martin, on the morning of December 26, 2009. She said she was going to visit her other daughter, Latrina, who had just been released from the hospital and lived only about fifteen to twenty minutes away. She never arrived.
Viola's family reported her missing on December 29 after their own search efforts were without success. On December 30 the police found her tan 1999 Chrysler Cirrus abandoned, parked illegally on a street in Dixmoor, Illinois, far from Latrina's home. There was no sign of Viola at the scene.
Viola's disappearance received additional media attention because Angela is a professional singer who, in December 2009, was competing for the third time to be a finalist on the popular television talent show, American Idol. She was later cut from the competition.
The family had endured several trAge at the time of disappearance: dies in recent years: Angela's father was murdered by his girlfriend in 2007, one of Viola's daughters is disabled and one of their cousins had died shortly before Viola's disappearance.
Viola worked at a local medical facility in 2009. She never picked up her last paycheck. Since her disappearance there have been several reported sightings of her in the Chicago area, but none of them have been confirmed. Angela believes she may have relapsed and begun abusing drugs and alcohol again. Her case remains unsolved.
Other information and links : ncy
Glenwood Police Department
708-753-2420
September 2021 updates and sources
America's Most Wanted
The Examiner
The Chicago Tribune
EURWeb
The New York Daily News
MyFox Boston
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
