Case Details
- Photo URLs:
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- Missing Since:
- Missing Since 09/25/1995
- Missing From:
- Missing From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Classification:
- Classification Endangered Missing
- Gender:
- Male
- Race:
- Race Black
- Date of Birth:
- Date of Birth 07/17/1993 (31)
- Age:
- Age 2 years old
- Height and Weight:
- Height and Weight 2’0, 29 pounds
- Clothing/Jewelry Description:
- Distinguishing Characteristics:
- Distinguishing Characteristics African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Ke’Shaun’s name may be spelled “KeShaun” or “Ke-Shaun.”
- Details of Disappearance:
- Ke’Shaun Vanderhorst disappeared from his Philadelphia home on September 25, 1995. His mother, Tina, initially claimed the Department of Human Services (DHS) took him. But this was false. Tina’s apartment was dirty and infested with rats. She had a history of drug and alcohol abuse and had previously lost several children.
Four of Tina’s other children died young, some from illness and one from possible SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Another child died shortly after birth. Her remaining children lived with their grandmother.
Tina gave conflicting accounts of Ke’Shaun’s disappearance. First, she said she sold him for $500 to a woman named Virginia Graham to buy drugs. She described Graham but Graham has never been found. Later, Tina claimed she left Ke’Shaun at a fruit stand while high on drugs and couldn’t remember what happened after.
Neighbors said Ke’Shaun seemed well-cared for, although Tina often left him with others.
Tina was convicted of child endangerment and sentenced to prison. Police also investigated the deaths of her other children, but no charges were filed. After prison, she was arrested again for prostitution and later for a brutal murder, though she was acquitted.
Ke’Shaun has never been found, and what happened to him remains a mystery.
- Agency:
- Philadelphia Police Department
- Source Links:
This person was missing Missing Since 09/25/1995