Michelle Carol Eason

• Missing Since 09/01/1997
• Missing From Poughkeepsie, New York
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race Black
• Date of Birth 03/09/1971 (53)
• Age 29 years old
• Height and Weight 5'2, 115 pounds
• Medical Conditions Eason used drugs at the time of her 1997 disappearance.
• Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Eason has a dark-colored birthmark on her left shoulder. She has had extensive dental work.

Details of Disappearance

Eason was last seen sometime during September 1997 in Poughkeepsie, New York in the area of Main Street. She has never been heard from again.

Eason was reported missing to authorities on October 9, 1997. She is one of a number of women who vanished from the same locale from October 1996 to August 1998. Many of the females were involved in prostitution and/or drugs.

Kendall Francois pleaded guilty in 2000 to the murders of eight women from the same area of Poughkeepsie where Eason vanished. A photo of Francois is posted with this case summary. The homicide victims were discovered inside of Francois's family's residence on Fulton Avenue, which was littered with garbage.

Eason was not among the victims who were located and Francois has not been charged in her disappearance. It is not clear if he is connected to her case. Part of Francois's plea agreement required him to cooperate with Eason's investigation.

He has denied involvement in her disappearance, but authorities stated that Francois hinted he may have been connected to her case. He allegedly told officials that he would never admit to any role in Eason's disappearance because he did not want to be associated with the murder of an African-American woman.

Several investigators speculated that Francois killed Eason and disposed her remains elsewhere. No evidence has been discovered to prove any theory.

Eason did fit the mold of the other Francois victims, but most of the women killed were Caucasian. He admitted that he knew Eason and said that they frequented the same areas of Main Street in the mid-1990s. Francois denied having an intimate relationship with her, but other witnesses claimed otherwise.

Another theory is that Eason's disappearance was drug-related. She lived with drug dealers in an apartment near Main and north Cherry Streets at the time of her disappearance. There was a rumor that she stole some drugs and was killed in retaliation.

Eason's boyfriend was questioned by authorities after her disappearance, but he was never charged in connection with her case. He speculated she'd been murdered by drug dealers and her body dumped in a river. He was asked to take a polygraph, but he refused, claiming he was taking medication which could skew the test results.

Investigators said that Eason previously left the Poughkeepsie area for extended periods of time, but she always contacted a family member or friend shortly afterwards. Several patrons were overheard discussing Eason's case in a local restaurant in mid-2001. The individuals claimed that she was alive and residing in Arizona.

Authorities investigated the rumor, but no evidence was discovered to verify the claim. She did not have a driver's license, credit cards or a bank account in 1997.

Eason left behind a young daughter. Her case remains unsolved.