Overview

Last Seen: Sometime in January 1999; January 1, 1999 is the date listed in missing-person databases.

Location: Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.

Age: Kimberly is generally reported as having been 23 years old when she disappeared.

Circumstances: Kimberly disappeared under circumstances that have never been publicly explained in detail. Her precise last-known location, who last saw her and what she was doing immediately before she disappeared have not been publicly established in the sources reviewed.

Status: Missing; the case remains publicly listed as active/unresolved as of 2026.

NamUs Number: MP23518.

Agency Case Number: 2011-3961, according to a 2026 case profile.

Doe Network Number: 4958DFWI. Kimberly was added to the Doe Network in December 2024.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Kimberly Sipp Missing Person Case: Milwaukee, Wisconsin — Missing Since 1999

Kimberly “Kim” Sipp disappeared from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in January 1999. More than 27 years later, her disappearance remains unresolved, and remarkably little information about the circumstances leading up to her disappearance has been made public.

Although January 1, 1999 is commonly listed as Kimberly’s date of last contact, available case information indicates that this appears to be an approximate or administrative date. Sources describe her as having last been seen sometime during January 1999 rather than establishing that she was definitively seen on New Year’s Day.

Brief Case Summary

Last Seen: Sometime in January 1999; January 1, 1999 is the date listed in missing-person databases.

Location: Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.

Age: Kimberly is generally reported as having been 23 years old when she disappeared.

Circumstances: Kimberly disappeared under circumstances that have never been publicly explained in detail. Her precise last-known location, who last saw her and what she was doing immediately before she disappeared have not been publicly established in the sources reviewed.

Status: Missing; the case remains publicly listed as active/unresolved as of 2026.

NamUs Number: MP23518.

Agency Case Number: 2011-3961, according to a 2026 case profile.

Doe Network Number: 4958DFWI. Kimberly was added to the Doe Network in December 2024.

The Disappearance of Kimberly Sipp

Kimberly Sipp was living in or present in Milwaukee when she disappeared in January 1999. Public databases commonly use January 1 as her missing date, but the available information does not establish that January 1 was her precise last confirmed sighting. The Charley Project states that she was last seen in Milwaukee sometime during January 1999 and has never been heard from again.

More recent reporting has emphasized this uncertainty. A May 2026 profile from Our Black Girls notes that the exact date of Kimberly’s disappearance is unclear and that January 1 appears to be used because she disappeared sometime during that month. The same report states that her exact last-known location and whether anyone was with her at the time are not publicly known.

That absence of basic information has become one of the defining features of Kimberly Sipp’s case.

What Kimberly Sipp Looked Like

Kimberly is described as a Black woman with black or dark brown hair and brown eyes. She stood approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall. Sources generally place her weight between approximately 135 and 150 pounds, although one recent profile gives a slightly broader range beginning at 125 pounds.

Several tattoos could be especially important for identification. Kimberly had a rose tattoo on her forearm, the word “love” tattooed across the fingers of her right hand, and her nickname, “Kim,” tattooed on her upper right arm.

Kimberly may also have used the names Tanya Austin and Tanya Austion. An alternate date of birth associated with her is September 20, 1978.

Questions Surrounding Kimberly’s Disappearance

Few publicly available details explain what happened before Kimberly vanished. There is no publicly documented account in the sources reviewed describing a final conversation, a specific residence from which she disappeared, a vehicle connected to the case, or a confirmed person who was with her immediately before she went missing.

There also does not appear to be publicly released evidence establishing that Kimberly was the victim of homicide. She should therefore be described as a missing person rather than a confirmed homicide victim unless authorities announce otherwise.

This distinction is particularly important because online discussions sometimes contain theories about what might have happened to Kimberly. Such speculation should not be confused with evidence released by investigators.

Recent Developments in the Kimberly Sipp Investigation

There have been signs of renewed attention to Kimberly’s case in recent years, although no publicly announced breakthrough has been found.

A Milwaukee-area online discussion created in November 2024 sought information from anyone who may have known Kimberly during the 1990s. On November 8, 2024, the thread’s participants reported that Kimberly’s NamUs record had been updated after information was apparently submitted. The discussion does not establish what was changed or whether the update resulted from a new investigative lead, so this should be treated as community-reported information rather than an official announcement.

The same Websleuths discussion later reported that Kimberly had been compared with six unidentified-person cases in Virginia. The publicly visible discussion does not establish who initiated those comparisons, their results, or whether law enforcement considered any of them viable matches.

A more verifiable development occurred in December 2024. The Doe Network officially listed Kimberly Sipp among cases added to its database, assigning her Doe Network case number 4958DFWI.

The Websleuths thread reported that Kimberly’s newly added Doe Network record indicated that fingerprints were available, while dental and DNA information were listed as unknown. Because those details were relayed through the discussion rather than independently confirmed in the official update notice reviewed here, they should be treated cautiously.

Most importantly, a May 7, 2026 profile continued to describe Kimberly as missing and urged anyone with information to contact authorities. The article listed Milwaukee County Medical Examiner case number 2011-3961 and the agency telephone number 414-223-1200.

No credible public source reviewed for this article reports that Kimberly has been located, that remains have been identified as hers, that an arrest has been made, or that authorities have publicly determined what happened to her.

More Than Two Decades Without Answers

Kimberly Sipp’s disappearance illustrates how difficult an investigation can become when even the basic circumstances surrounding a missing person are unclear.

There is no detailed public account explaining where in Milwaukee Kimberly was last seen, who reported her missing, how quickly authorities were notified, who last spoke with her, or what investigators initially believed may have happened.

Those unanswered questions make renewed public attention particularly important. Someone who knew Kimberly in Milwaukee during the late 1990s may remember something that appeared insignificant at the time but could help establish a clearer timeline today.

Kimberly’s distinctive tattoos, aliases and possible alternate birth date provide additional identifying information that may help distinguish her from other missing-person cases or unidentified remains.

How to Help

Anyone with firsthand information about Kimberly Sipp’s whereabouts, associates or activities around the time she disappeared should provide that information directly to authorities. Even information that seemed unimportant in 1999 could potentially help investigators reconstruct her movements.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner can be reached at 414-223-1200. Kimberly’s NamUs case number is MP23518, and the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner case number reported in recent coverage is 2011-3961.