Yasmin Rayon Acree — (2008) Missing Case

Yasmin Rayon Acree - Disappeared in 2008.

Yasmin Rayon Acree was 15 when she was last seen at her family's home in Chicago on January 15, 2008. Official missing-person listings still classify her as missing. No public record establishes what happened to her. It does not say whether she left on her own, was taken, or was harmed. No one has been publicly reported as charged in connection with her disappearance.

 

This account draws on official case listings and contemporaneous news reports, and it attributes each claim to whoever made it. Statements from relatives, community leaders, and police are presented as statements, not as established findings. The case is not described as a confirmed abduction, runaway, or homicide, because the public record supports none of those conclusions.

Case at a Glance

Name: Yasmin Rayon Acree

Date last seen: January 15, 2008

Last known location: Family home, Austin neighborhood, Chicago, Illinois

Age when missing: 15

Case status: Missing; disappearance unresolved

Official record: NCMEC #1088268; NamUs #MP2708

Tips: Chicago Police: (312) 744-8266; NCMEC: 1-800-843-5678

Who Yasmin Acree Was Before She Disappeared

Public biographical detail is limited. Chicago's Austin neighborhood on the West Side is where news reports place her home. ABC7 reported in 2011 that she was an Austin Polytech High School honor student. Pastor Cy Fields of New Landmark Missionary Baptist Church described her in a 2013 report as "an honor student" with "a bright future," and as "well-adjusted." These are characterizations from family and community members, not official records.

 

Her mother, Rose Starnes, told reporters in 2009 that Yasmin was never someone who "ran the streets." Starnes said she kept her daughter involved in childhood activities and at the Y, and that her daughter was always supervised. A 2009 news report describes Starnes as Yasmin's adoptive mother. A classmate and best friend, Rashida Redmond, appeared at a 2009 family appeal.

Official records add a physical description and an alias:

• Nickname: Yaya-Mimi
• Height and weight: 5 feet 1 inch, 125 pounds
• Hair: Brown, described as "sandy brown"
• Eyes: Brown
• Distinguishing features: None recorded

Those details come from the national missing-persons database NamUs. Nothing more is on record about her interests, friendships, or daily routine beyond what family members and community leaders said to the press.

January 15, 2008: The Last Confirmed Contact

Both the national NamUs listing and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) poster record January 15, 2008, as the date she was last seen or contacted. Both say she was last seen at home in Chicago. NamUs gives the location as ZIP code 60644 in Cook County. The NamUs circumstances field says only: "Yasmin was last seen at her home on January 15, 2008."

News coverage supplies a little more, with some inconsistency:

• Laundry in the basement. A 2013 report by 6abc said Yasmin "was just 15 when she disappeared after doing laundry in the basement of her home in the Austin neighborhood." This is the only account in the reviewed coverage that describes her last known activity.
• A date discrepancy. One local report from January 2012 says she "went missing from her Austin-area home January 16, 2008." Official listings and nearly all other coverage use January 15. The January 16 date may reflect when the disappearance was discovered, but the news report that uses it does not say so. The January 15 date should be treated as the established one.
• Differing home descriptions. News reports variously call it a "South Austin home" and a "West Side home." These are consistent with one another, as Austin is on the city's West Side.

The family's account is that she was taken during the night. ABC7 reported in 2009 that Starnes showed reporters a broken lock and a path to a basement bedroom door that was found open on January 15, 2008. This is the family's account of the scene, and the reviewed documents do not independently confirm it.

The Evidence Described Publicly, and What It Does Not Prove

Publicly reported physical evidence is thin. Two items appear in news coverage:

1. Broken locks at the home. The family said a lock was broken and the basement bedroom door was open. According to the same ABC7 report, the family also said one of the broken locks stayed at the home for three days before police forensic staff collected it and dusted for fingerprints.
2. A broken lock on a back gate. The 2013 6abc report said there have been "few clues, except for a broken lock on a back gate."

The delay in collecting the lock is the family's allegation. The police superintendent responded to the broader complaint about officers' handling of the case, as described below, but the reviewed documents do not detail how or when evidence was gathered.

 

The public record does not include forensic results, a confirmed point of entry, or any finding that establishes abduction, runaway status, or homicide. A broken lock is consistent with several scenarios, and none of the reviewed documents says which one occurred. Investigators' own statements, discussed below, have shifted over time, which is another reason to avoid a firm conclusion.

The Early Police Classification and Acknowledged Misconduct

Acree's disappearance was at first classified as a runaway, according to ABC7's 2011 coverage, which said the honor student was considered a likely candidate to run away. Her family has consistently disputed that interpretation. In its 2009 report, ABC7 said relatives tried to convince investigators she was a victim of foul play, and that Starnes believed police had chosen tunnel vision in assuming she had left voluntarily.

 

ABC7 reported in September 2009 that the Chicago Police Department Internal Affairs Division had sent Starnes a letter finding that misconduct by department members had been proven in the handling of Yasmin's case. Austin Weekly News reported that the letter was dated August 30, 2009, following a 13-month internal review prompted by Starnes's July 2008 complaint. That 13-month figure describes the review's duration, not the time elapsed after Yasmin disappeared. The published accounts do not establish which officers were involved, exactly what disciplinary action was taken, or whether the errors changed the investigation's outcome.

 

Police Superintendent Jody Weis drew a distinction when asked. He said: "It appears that some officers made a mistake. We'll deal with that but I think it is safe to say that particular incident had no impact on the efforts of our detectives in locating that young lady." The family and its supporters took the opposite view. They said the delay might have affected the chances of finding her, but that is their belief and not a finding. The reviewed documents establish that department members were found to have committed misconduct. They do not establish that the misconduct changed the outcome of the case.

 

In 2013, Fields said that Yasmin being African American and a child of color made it "easy" for police to conclude she had run away. This is a community leader's view of why the early classification happened. It is not an official finding.

Investigation, Tips, and Public Appeals

Yasmin Rayon Acree. Image credit: Cook County Sheriff's Office

Police statements and news coverage show sustained public activity in the first years after the disappearance.

Police resources and a reported sighting. In January 2009, according to 6abc, Chicago police said several detectives were assigned and had logged thousands of hours and followed up on tips. Police said some tips were reported sightings and that investigators were able to confirm one sighting of Yasmin the previous August in Illinois, so they believed she was alive. That is a historical statement from early 2009. It does not establish where she is now, and the reviewed documents contain no later confirmation of it.

 

Complaints about handling. During the first year, 6abc reported, the family filed a complaint with the Independent Police Review Authority about how the case was being handled. Rev. Marshall Hatch of the Leaders Network said at that time that the group was not convinced it was an ongoing high-priority investigation.

National media attention. The 2009 report said her case had been featured the previous month on America's Most Wanted.

Rewards. The amounts have varied over time:

Date of report	Reward reported	Notes
January 2009	$3,000	ABC7 reported an increased reward.
September 2009	$5,000	Austin Weekly News reported an increase from $3,000.
February 2011	$3,000 / $6,000	ABC7 cited $3,000; a separate CBS Chicago report cited $6,000. The difference is unresolved.
January 2012	$5,000 / $7,000	ABC7 reported $5,000, while CBS Chicago reported a $7,000 fund after donations.
October 2012	$10,000	ABC7 reported the family had increased the reward.
January 2020	$10,000	ABC7 Chicago reported that the reward still stood at this amount.

These are historical amounts reported at different times, not a verified running total. Some news reports from 2011 and January 2012 disagree. ABC7 reported a $10,000 reward in October 2012 and again in January 2020. None of the current official case listings reviewed here confirms that a reward remains available in November 2026; readers should not rely on an older figure without checking with investigators.

 

Flyers and anniversaries. Relatives and friends handed out flyers in the neighborhood in January 2011 (in the 4800 block of West Congress) and again in January 2012. A prayer vigil was planned around the five-year mark in 2013.

 

In February 2011, ministers and Starnes met with Superintendent Weis at police headquarters, and a police spokesperson said the department "continues to aggressively investigate this case." The family also sought an age-enhanced photograph at that meeting. CBS Chicago reported that police released a new age-enhanced image later that month.

The current NCMEC poster displays an image age-progressed to 30; the age shown is an image estimate, not evidence of Yasmin's present appearance.

A person questioned. The 2013 6abc report said no one has been charged in Yasmin's disappearance, but that police questioned a former upstairs neighbor who was in custody awaiting trial on unrelated alleged rapes. Being questioned is not an accusation. The reviewed documents report no charge, finding, or statement tying that person to the disappearance.

The Family's Continuing Search for Answers

Rose Starnes has appeared repeatedly in coverage, and her statements have been consistent in tone: hope, uncertainty, and appeals to her daughter.

• At the January 2009 appeal, Starnes said: "If anyone knows anything, I wish they would make a phone call," adding that the family missed Yasmin and wanted her home.
• In 2011, she said it was hard for her to give up hope and that she would always believe her daughter was out there.
• On the fifth anniversary in 2013, she told 6abc that she needed to know whether Yasmin was still alive or had died.
• That year she also said she spoke with a detective weekly and held no ill will toward police, though she hoped nothing like this would happen again to any child.
• A "we miss u Yasmin" sign has stayed in the family's front window since the disappearance, according to the same report, and will remain until they find answers.

Relatives and clergy have pressed for attention to the case. Her uncle, Pastor Ira Acree, belongs to the Leaders Network, a clergy-based group.

Hatch of the same network said in 2011 that the family and ministers were concerned about "cultural assumptions" that lose valuable time at the start of an investigation. Community leaders also claimed there had been some 600 abductions in lower-income neighborhoods in the previous three years, but ABC7 noted the police department had not confirmed that number. These are advocacy positions, not official findings.

Later Family Vigils and Appeals, 2018–2020

In January 2018, ABC7 Chicago reported that relatives held a vigil on the tenth anniversary of Yasmin's disappearance. Her adoptive mother, Rose Starnes, had died nearly four years earlier, around 2014, without learning what happened to her daughter. Other relatives said they remained committed to finding answers. The report also described their concerns about leads and possible suspects, but it did not confirm that anyone was involved in Yasmin's disappearance.

 

In January 2020, ABC7 Chicago spoke with Yasmin's brother Damarcus Acree and sister Shawn Acree. Both described the family's continuing search and lack of closure. The report identified Rose as Yasmin's adoptive mother and aunt by marriage. A Chicago Police Department spokesperson said the investigation was still in progress, while the outlet reported that a $10,000 reward remained available at that time. These are 2020 developments, not independent confirmation of investigative activity or reward availability in 2026.

What the Public Record Can and Cannot Support

What the record supports well

• Official listings agree on the date of last contact, the city, and her age at the time.
• Police acknowledged, per the department's own letter, that misconduct by department members was proven in the handling of the case.
• Police stated in 2009 that they believed she was alive based on a confirmed sighting in Illinois.
• Case listings remain open and carry active contact numbers.
• ABC7 Chicago documented family vigils in 2018 and a continuing search in 2020, when police said the case was still in progress.

What it does not support

• Any account of how, why, or with whom she left the home.
• Any connection between the initial runaway classification and the case remaining unresolved.
• Any conclusion that she is alive, or that she has died.
• Current reward amounts or the status of any particular lead.

Case Status and Identifying Information

The NCMEC missing-child poster and Cook County Sheriff's Office listing continue to display Yasmin as missing. ABC7 last confirmed police investigation activity in its January 2020 report; a current investigative briefing was not available for this review.

Detail	Information
Name	Yasmin Rayon Acree
Alias	Yaya-Mimi
Date of last contact	January 15, 2008
Last known location	Chicago, Illinois 60644 (Cook County)
Age at disappearance	15
Sex / race	Female, Black / African American
Height / weight	5'1", 125 lbs
Hair / eyes	Brown ("sandy brown") / brown
NCMEC number	1088268
NCIC number (per NCMEC)	M863953212
Investigating agency (per NCMEC)	Chicago Police Department

CBS Chicago identified Detective Mike Roth as a police contact in January 2012; this is a historical attribution, not confirmation of his current assignment. The NCMEC poster directs tips to the Chicago Police Department at (312) 744-8266; NCMEC's 24-hour hotline is 1-800-843-5678.

Some archived official and news pages display ages calculated when those records were published or last updated. Those figures should not be read as a new case development. ABC7 reported that the family marked Yasmin's twentieth birthday on October 25, 2012, which supports 1992 as her reported birth year; an original birth record was not reviewed.

The latest family interview independently reviewed for this update is ABC7 Chicago's January 2020 report. It described the case as still under investigation, with no reported resolution. The current official listings continue to identify Yasmin as missing, but do not establish what happened to her.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was Yasmin Acree's disappearance confirmed as an abduction or murder?

No. Her family believes she was taken, and police said in 2009 that they believed she was alive, but no public record establishes what happened to her. The case is classified as a missing-person case.

Did Chicago police admit mistakes?

Yes. ABC7 reported in September 2009 that the department's internal affairs division wrote that misconduct by department members had been proven. The superintendent said the incident had no impact on detectives' efforts to locate her.

Is there a reward available now?

News reports cited amounts ranging from $3,000 to $10,000. ABC7 reported $10,000 in October 2012 and again in January 2020. The official missing-person listings reviewed here do not independently establish whether any reward is currently active.

Who should receive information about the case?

The NCMEC poster lists the Chicago Police Department at (312) 744-8266 and the NCMEC 24-hour call center at 1-800-843-5678. NamUs also lists the Chicago Police Department as the investigating agency.

References

1. NamUs — Missing Person #MP2708
2. NCMEC — Yasmin Rayon Acree, Poster #1088268 (official listing)
3. Cook County Sheriff’s Office — Yasmin Rayon Acree, Missing Person #MP2708
4. 6abc / ABC — Mother Holds Out Hope for Missing Daughter (January 15, 2013)
5. ABC7 — Police Admit Misconduct in Missing Teen Case (September 10, 2009)
6. Austin Weekly News — “Misconduct” in Search for Yasmin Acree (September 16, 2009)
7. ABC7 — Reward Increased for Help Finding Missing Teen (January 16, 2009)
8. ABC7 Chicago — Double Standard for Missing Persons? (February 7, 2011)
9. CBS Chicago — Police Release New Photo of Teen Missing for 3 Years (February 19, 2011)
10. ABC7 — Search Goes On for Teen Missing Since 2008 (January 14, 2012)
11. CBS Chicago — Family Marks Fourth Anniversary of Yasmin Acree’s Disappearance (January 15, 2012)
12. ABC7 — Family, Friends Mark Yasmin Acree’s Twentieth Birthday (October 25, 2012)
13. ABC7 Chicago — Family Holds Vigil for Teenager Missing Since 2008 (January 17, 2018)
14. ABC7 Chicago — Family Searching for Answers Twelve Years After Disappearance (January 16, 2020)