Melisa Maureen Sloan

Melisa, circa 1994

  • Missing Since 05/01/1994
  • Missing From Orlando, Florida
  • Classification Endangered Missing
  • Sex Female
  • Race White
  • Date of Birth 07/04/1970 (53)
  • Age 23 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'4, 130 pounds
  • Clothing/Jewelry Description Possibly her white nurse's uniform and a watch.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue or brown eyes. Melisa may spell her first name "Melissa" and may use the last name Brady or Brady-Sloan. Her ears are pierced.

Details of Disappearance

Melisa was last seen in Orlando, Florida on May 1, 1994. She was supposed to drive to Houston, Texas, and had rented a car at Orlando National Airport. She has never been heard from again. Her rental car was found abandoned, stripped and burned in Pensacola, Florida after her disappearance.

Melisa and her husband, John Sloan, had moved to Florida from Kentucky about a year before her disappearance. They lived in the 1900 block of south Kirkman Road in Orlando. They had moved so John could attend school and train to become a motorcycle mechanic.

Their marriage was troubled, and police went to their residence in response to domestic violence issues twice in the nine months before Melisa vanished. The second time, John was arrested and charged with assaulting Melisa; that case was still pending by the time Melisa went missing and she was due to testify against him the following week.

She left him and went back to Kentucky after the second domestic violence incident, but later reconciled with him and returned to Florida. Shortly before her disappearance, she told a co-worker she was planning to leave her husband.

John said Melisa had packed her things and left him for another man whom he did not know, but her family does not believe this story. Almost all of Melisa's belongings disappeared with her, but she left behind her bathrobe and her pet cat.

John divorced Melisa months after her disappearance and remarried, but his second wife died of a drug/alcohol overdose. He now lives in Washington state with his third wife and children. He has refused to cooperate with the investigation into Melisa's disappearance.

Melisa was employed as a licensed practical nurse at the time of her disappearance; she enjoyed her job. She graduated from Bardstown High School and Spencerian College. She was close to her family and they do not believe she would have left without telling anyone.

Her credit cards, driver's license, Social Security number and nursing license haven't been used since her disappearance. Foul play is suspected in her case, which remains unsolved.

Updated 6 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated April 25, 2010; details of disappearance updated.