Na’ziyah Harris

• Missing Since 01/09/2024
• Missing From Detroit, Michigan
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race Black
• Date of Birth 09/16/2010 (14)
• Age 13 years old
• Height and Weight 5'3, 110 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A black jacket, a white sweater, a pink, black and white puffy Rugrats coat with a hood lined in brown fur, light blue jeans and red and white Nike sneakers. A photo of the Rugrats coat is posted with this case summary.
• Medical Conditions Na'ziyah may have been pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
• Distinguishing Characteristics African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. At the time of her disappearance, Na'ziyah's hair was styled in two braided puff balls. She wears eyeglasses with clear frames. Her ears are pierced.

Details of Disappearance

Na'ziyah was last seen in Detroit, Michigan on January 9, 2024. She took the bus to school at J.E. Clark Preparatory Academy that day, and while in school she used her tablet to send a message to Jarvis Ramon Butts. He is the father of Na'ziyah's aunt's five children; a photo of him is posted with this case summary.

After school, Na'ziyah met up with Butts and one of his coworkers at an auto repair shop on Connor. The three of them went to Ypsilanti, Michigan together, then returned to the auto repair shop. That evening, Butts checked into a hotel. Na'ziyah never returned home and has never been heard from again.

Several items of the clothing she was last seen wearing, along with her school identification card and her earphones, were found in the area of 7 Mile and Berg Road near the Rouge River. The clothing was damaged in such a way to suggest a struggle.

She has no history of running away from home, and no history of truancy from school. At the time of her disappearance, she lived with her adoptive mother, who is her biological grandmother. Her mother began searching for her when she hadn't returned home by 6:00 p.m., but she did not call the police until the next morning.

When he was initially questioned about Na'ziyah, Butts said he didn't know her very well, although he admitted she texted him and that she sometimes did odd jobs at his auto repair shop. He said he hadn't seen her since late December or early January, and denied having seen her on the day of her disappearance, something later proven to be untrue. In October 2024, Butts was charged with first-degree premeditated murder, child sexually abusive activity, and criminal sexual conduct in the second degree in her case.

He has also been charged with the sexual abuse of two other girls in unrelated cases dating back to 2012. One alleged victim was between 8 and 10 years old; the other was between 4 and 6 years old. The prosecution called him a "serial child rapist" and said he had a pattern of behavior where he would target and befriend women in order to get access to their daughters so he could abuse them.

Beginning in September 2022, Butts started sending Na'ziyah sexually explicit texts, and she sent him sexually explicit photos of her self. In September 2023, she told Butts she had missed her menstrual period. By November, Butts was making online searches about abortions and drinking red antifreeze. Authorities stated his DNA was found on Na'ziyah's clothing, and his cellular phone records indicate that between 11:40 p.m. on January 10 and 1:34 a.m. on January 11, he was in the area where the clothing was later found.

Investigators believe Butts may have attempted a clandestine abortion on Na'ziyah that caused her death. He is awaiting trial in her case. Na'ziyah has never been found, but foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.