Overview

Last known contact: December 25, 1995
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Age at disappearance: 23
NamUs: MP73356
Status: Missing

Main circumstances: Howard’s mother reported that she last had contact with her daughter on Christmas Day 1995 in Milwaukee. A friend, however, later reported having telephone contact with Howard sometime in 1998. Howard was not formally reported missing to the Peoria Police Department in Illinois until April 22, 2013. Information subsequently obtained from Peoria police indicated that Howard may have lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Fayetteville, North Carolina after the 1995 contact.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Artavia M. Howard Missing Person Case: Disappearance From Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Artavia M. Howard was 23 years old when her mother last had contact with her on December 25, 1995, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Decades later, Howard remains listed as a missing person. Her case is recorded in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System under NamUs #MP73356.

Howard is a Black woman with brown hair and brown eyes. Available records describe her as approximately 4 feet 8 inches to 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighing between approximately 120 and 140 pounds. She has also been identified in case-related information as Artavia Baldwin.

Very Brief Case Summary

Last known contact: December 25, 1995
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Age at disappearance: 23
NamUs: MP73356
Status: Missing

Main circumstances: Howard’s mother reported that she last had contact with her daughter on Christmas Day 1995 in Milwaukee. A friend, however, later reported having telephone contact with Howard sometime in 1998. Howard was not formally reported missing to the Peoria Police Department in Illinois until April 22, 2013. Information subsequently obtained from Peoria police indicated that Howard may have lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Fayetteville, North Carolina after the 1995 contact.

What Happened to Artavia Howard?

One of the unusual aspects of Artavia Howard’s disappearance is the long period between her mother’s last known contact with her and the filing of a missing-person report.

According to case information attributed to NamUs, Howard’s mother said she last communicated with Artavia on December 25, 1995, while Artavia was in Milwaukee. A friend gave investigators a different piece of information: the friend said there had been telephone contact with Howard sometime in 1998.

That reported 1998 telephone conversation is important because it means the publicly listed December 25, 1995 date should be understood as Howard’s official date of last contact in the missing-person record, rather than proof that she necessarily disappeared or came to harm on that exact date.

The Missing-Person Report Was Filed Years Later

Howard’s mother and a friend ultimately reported her missing to the Peoria Police Department in Peoria, Illinois, on April 22, 2013. That was more than 17 years after her mother’s reported Christmas 1995 contact.

Publicly available case information does not provide a detailed explanation for why the report was filed so many years later. Because of that gap, it is important not to assume that Howard was continuously believed missing by her family beginning in 1995 or that a crime occurred in Milwaukee on Christmas Day. The available record establishes a last-contact date, a later reported telephone contact and the eventual filing of a missing-person report.

Possible Later Locations

A significant development appears in information obtained from the Peoria Police Department in August 2020. According to the case summary, investigators had information suggesting Howard possibly lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Fayetteville, North Carolina after she was last seen.

The wording is important: these are possible locations associated with Howard, not confirmed sightings presented in the public record. No publicly available information located for this article establishes when she may have been in each city, how investigators obtained the information, or whether law enforcement independently confirmed that Howard herself was living in those places.

The possible locations nevertheless broaden the geographic scope of the investigation considerably. Although Howard’s missing-person record is associated with Milwaukee, information relevant to her whereabouts could potentially exist outside Wisconsin.

Conflicting Last-Contact Information

Howard’s case contains an important chronological discrepancy. Her mother reported last having contact with her in Milwaukee on December 25, 1995, while a friend said the friend spoke with Howard by telephone sometime in 1998.

NamUs-linked databases continue to use December 25, 1995, in Milwaukee as Howard’s date and place of last contact. CaseTrace likewise lists her as missing from Milwaukee on that date under NamUs #73356.

The friend’s account should not be ignored, but publicly accessible information reviewed for this article does not establish whether investigators were able to verify the 1998 communication.

Latest Publicly Available Investigation Information

The most substantive later investigative information located is the August 2020 information from Peoria police indicating that Howard may have subsequently lived in Milwaukee, Indianapolis and Fayetteville. Uncovered’s individual case page, which attributes its case narrative to NamUs, was last updated March 23, 2022.

More recent databases continue to carry Howard as missing. CaseTrace currently lists Artavia Howard among Milwaukee missing-person cases with NamUs #73356, while Wisconsin’s Missing also includes Artavia M. Howard among Wisconsin’s missing persons.

A current SpotCrime missing-person listing also continues to identify Howard as missing, giving Milwaukee as the last-seen location, December 25, 1995 as the date, age 23 at disappearance and MP73356 as the case number.

No reliable public source located for this article documents that Howard has been found, that her disappearance has been resolved, or that authorities have classified her case as a homicide. Likewise, no publicly documented suspect, arrest or confirmed explanation for her disappearance was located.

Public Discussion and Unverified Theories

Howard’s name has appeared in online discussions comparing missing women with unidentified-person cases. In a November 2024 Websleuths discussion concerning the formerly unidentified woman known as “Peaches,” a participant reproduced information about Howard and considered whether she might have been a possible match. The participant also noted that the reported 1998 telephone contact would conflict with that particular theory.

Other social-media discussions have also mentioned Howard among long-term missing people from Milwaukee.

These discussions can generate awareness and sometimes useful leads, but they should not be confused with law-enforcement findings. No source reviewed for this article establishes a confirmed connection between Howard and another unidentified-person or homicide case.

Artavia Howard’s Case Remains Unresolved

More than three decades have passed since Howard’s mother’s last reported contact with her. The central questions remain unanswered: what happened after Christmas 1995, whether the reported 1998 telephone contact can be verified, and whether the possible later connections to Wisconsin, Indiana and North Carolina can establish where Howard went.

Anyone with information should provide it to law enforcement rather than attempting to investigate or confront anyone independently. Milwaukee Police specifically asks people with information about missing persons to contact the department at 414-935-7405 or 414-933-4444. Peoria Police, the department to which Howard was originally reported missing in 2013, can be reached at 309-673-4521.