DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. – The grandfather of 16-year-old Tasia Keaton is speaking out as the search for the missing teen continues.
Tasia Keaton reportedly ran away from Vista Maria, a Dearborn Heights facility for vulnerable youth, on March 14. She was last seen on March 17 on gas station surveillance near Beech Daly and Joy Road.
Dearborn Heights police and other agencies believe Keaton may be in danger. The teen has a history of being sexually abused and trafficked, and authorities think she could be in a similar situation right now.
The facility has allegedly not been forthcoming with providing information and personal property that would have helped investigators on Keaton’s case, sources said.
Grandfather speaks on Tasia Keaton’s disappearance
After hearing the allegations, Keaton’s grandfather spoke to Local 4.
“I’m very angry and upset about it,” said Terry Mansell, Keaton’s grandfather. “And, all I want is my granddaughter to come back safely. It seems to me if [Vista Maria] did that, then there’s a reason — there’s something they don’t want no one to find.”
The grandfather said he found it controlling that the staff at the facility would listen to their phone calls.
“They listen to everything — your conversations and my granddaughter could not tell me these things were happening because they wouldn’t let her tell,” Mansell said. “They tell you they’re listening.”
Former resident describes traumatizing conditions
Keaton’s disappearance has also prompted former residents to speak out about the alleged conditions and abuse they experienced at Vista Maria.
One former resident, who was forced to stay at Vista Maria from July of 2020 to May of 2021, told Local 4 that allegations of physical and sexual abuse went on for years, with multiple staff members.
The resident said that during her time at the facility, she went through “cruel punishment.”
She recalled one encounter and said,“ I remember I was writing in my room… and I got tackled like almost into a straddle position, like the guy was on top of me, straddling me. And I just remember with my hands pinned above my head, this is not okay. This is abuse.”
The former resident also recalled how one staff member reacted after another girl was upset by a phone call with her mother.
“She got upset, slammed the phone down, and this guy just grabbed her by her ponytail to the ground, and then looked at all of us sitting across from her and walked away,” she said. “It was really scary. I remember his face, his whole demeanor, everything, still to this day.”
The resident said another male staff member used to come to work under the influence, smoke in front of them, and would pick up girls on home visits and engage in intercourse with them.
When talking to Local 4, this former resident also spoke of an abandoned structure called Donna Maria, which staff members used as a way to punish the girls for “misbehaving” and to keep them from running away.
“My hands were turning blue because all I got was a blanket,” the resident said about being forced to stay in this punishment room. “There was no heat. There was no air, there was nothing in that building,” she said. “Even if the fire alarms went off, the doors could not open.”
‘Shut that place down’
This abuse with staff members allegedly went on the entire time she was at Vista Maria, and the resident hopes that the state investigates the conditions of the facility.
“Shut that place down as soon as possible. Shut it down,” she said. “Hire staff with a background in behavioral issues. Hire people that know what they’re doing instead of random strangers.”
Facility described as ‘horror show’
“This place is literally a living hell for the employees and the children,” one former Vista Maria staff member said.
That employee, who worked with Keaton at one point, 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.
A current employee said the way staff members are trained doesn’t properly serve the girls.
“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,” the 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.”
Read more -- ‘A horror show’: Employees expose alleged abuse, neglect at Vista Maria following teen’s disappearance
Where things stand
Right now, there are two open investigations involving sexual contact between a former male staff member and two teen residents within the last several months, with one of the residents allegedly being Tasia Keaton.
“We need to get Tasia back, not just for her safety, but to speak with her about what happened,” Dearborn Heights Police Chief Ahmed Haidar said. “If these allegations are true, we will seek a warrant and make sure that individual is held accountable.”
Local 4 reached out to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services last week, and again on Monday, April 21, 2025.
We’re also waiting for another response from Vista Maria.
Here’s the statement the facility released 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."
Vista Maria
Police said they have received tips that have led them in the right direction, but asked for the community’s assistance as they continue to search for Keaton.
“Don’t think your tip isn’t worth calling in,” said Haider. “Call. Every tip matters.”