Found Deceased MI - Darlene McKenzie, 17, Detroit, 1975

Darlene McKenzie was just added to NAMUS a few weeks ago. It was originally believed that 17 year old Darlene was a runaway, but there has been no contact with her family since 1975. Circumstances of her disappearance are unclear. The exact date she disappeared in 1975 is unknown. Namus uses the default date of January 1, 1975. She was last seen on Muirfield Street (Drive?) in Detroit.

Googling Muirfield St. brings up Muirfield Drive. Muirfield Drive is variously listed as being in both the Dawn Hill and Hillsborough neighborhoods of Detroit. Another source lists the neighborhood as being referred to as "The Firewheel" (???)

Darlene was 67 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes, at the time of her disappearance. Her weight is listed at 130 lbs.

https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/31060/45/ No dental, no FP, "DNA sample submitted-tests not complete".
According to NAMUS, Darlene had previously been shot under her armpit/breast area, and the bullet was never removed.


I sincerely hope Darlene is alive and well. I could find only one UID from Michigan from 1975-1978 that fit Darlene's age range, height, etc., found in June 1975 in Oakland MI. The deceased was wearing pink/purple fingernail polish, had dyed red hair, and unique underwear imprinted with "sharing is beautiful." https://identifyus.org/en/cases/12157

The street you typed is incorrect. According to NAMUS on Muirland St, Detroit which is in Wayne County.

I would like to know more about when she was shot...

Why was she "thought to be a runaway"? Had she previously run off or threaten to run away? When was she last in school? What was her birth date? A lot of information missing here. I assume she was living with parent(s) or she would have had no one to run away from so why didn't they report her absence right away?

Yes, there is a lot that is not listed. Since she was just added a few weeks ago, maybe more will be posted in her Namus page in the future.

she has been found. an unidentified body found matched DNA. https://www.facebook.com/missingkids/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED

Jbrown324320 said:

she has been found. an unidentified body found matched DNA. https://www.facebook.com/missingkids/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED

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It says she was found dead in Michigan in 1975 and has been unidentified all this time Authorities in Michigan are investigating her death and ask anyone with any information to contact Farmington Hills police department.


https://m.facebook.com/HelpIDMe/pho...6120190298/1485644178130151/?type=3&source=48

I wonder if she could have been a trial run for the Oakland County Child Killer.

Rayemonde said:

It says she was found dead in Michigan in 1975 and has been unidentified all this time Authorities in Michigan are investigating her death and ask anyone with any information to contact Farmington Hills police department.


https://m.facebook.com/HelpIDMe/pho...6120190298/1485644178130151/?type=3&source=48

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In the comment section under the link, someone says this was there mother. They were only 2 when she disappeared and have been looking for her for a long time.

Woman searches for mother's killer in 40-year-old cold case murder

http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/oakland-county/woman-searches-for-mothers-killer-in-40-year-old-cold-case-murder

"It was difficult because no one understood that I just wanted help trying to find my mom," said Carlita Ransom who has spent years searching for her mother, Darlene McKenzie.

Darlene went missing when she was just 15 years old. Carlita was a baby at that time.

It was 1975 and Darlene, who gave birth to Carlita when she was just 14, seemingly vanished in early June of that year from the home of her mother and step-father and was never heard from again.

"I know I went out and looked," said Doris Leverette, Darlene's mother, who can't be sure if she ever filed a missing person report in 1975.

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"Being a future mortician and seeing death everyday still doesn't prepare me for what happened to my mom," said Carlita who is now trying to raise enough money to get her mother the headstone she's never had.

"I do believe justice will happen for my mother Darlene," said Carlita. "Even if I had to look until I took my last breath, no matter what I did, I was not going to stop looking until I found my mother."

If you have any information on what may have happened to Darlene McKenzie in 1975, you're urged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP or Farmington Hills Police.

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Charley Project just brought her case up on social media. Apparently, someone else's bone was buried with her . With an upcoming exhumation, hopefully they can find something else leading to answers. Sad case.

''Mar 10, 2023
The Farmington Hills Police Department’s Cold Case Team has created a page to highlight seven cold cases they are investigating''

Megan Woods, March 10, 2023
''FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – Farmington Hills police have launched a new webpage dedicated to solving cold case murders and missing persons investigations.

Right now, the department has seven unsolved murders going as far back as the 1970s.

“It’s definitely the low point of the case when you can’t look that family member in the eye and you can’t give them the closure or the answers that they deserve,” said Chief Jeff King.

He says even though a case has gone cold, it doesn’t mean that person is forgotten.

Investigators work closely with families to get answers.

“They need to know who, as to the greatest extent possible, who, what, where, when maybe why,” King said. “And we’re trying to get them that and the public needs to know that whatever bit of information they have, as inconsequential as they think it is. It could be critical to our investigation.”

''We’re working to bring attention to as many unsolved and missing persons cases from around the state as we can. Our hope is that getting this important information out to the public will help generate tips for investigators and potentially lead to closure for the affected families. If you have a cold case you’d like us to look into, please let us know by using the form below.

Have a cold case tip? Get in touch
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