Overview

Last Seen: November 1, 1980
Location: Menominee Indian Reservation, Keshena, Menominee County, Wisconsin
Age When Missing: 17
Status: Missing; unresolved
NamUs: MP95010
Doe Network: 4590DFWI

Main circumstances: Lisa was last seen on the Menominee Indian Reservation in 1980. She subsequently disappeared and has never been seen or heard from again. Very few details concerning the events immediately before her disappearance have been publicly released.

There is a discrepancy concerning the exact date. The Wisconsin Department of Justice currently gives November 1, 1980, while a 2023 Menominee Nation News notice stated that Lisa was last seen in August 1980.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Lisa Lynn Ninham: 17-Year-Old Menominee and Oneida Woman Missing from Wisconsin Since 1980

Lisa Lynn Ninham was just 17 years old when she disappeared from the Menominee Indian Reservation near Keshena, Wisconsin, in 1980. More than four decades later, Lisa has never been found, and publicly available information about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance remains extremely limited.

Her case remains listed with the Wisconsin Department of Justice, and authorities continue to seek information that could explain what happened to her.

Brief Case Summary

Last Seen: November 1, 1980
Location: Menominee Indian Reservation, Keshena, Menominee County, Wisconsin
Age When Missing: 17
Status: Missing; unresolved
NamUs: MP95010
Doe Network: 4590DFWI

Main circumstances: Lisa was last seen on the Menominee Indian Reservation in 1980. She subsequently disappeared and has never been seen or heard from again. Very few details concerning the events immediately before her disappearance have been publicly released.

There is a discrepancy concerning the exact date. The Wisconsin Department of Justice currently gives November 1, 1980, while a 2023 Menominee Nation News notice stated that Lisa was last seen in August 1980.

Who Was Lisa Lynn Ninham?

Lisa Lynn Ninham was born May 25, 1963, according to a Menominee Nation News missing-person notice. The notice identified her as a Menominee and Oneida woman.

Current Wisconsin authorities describe Lisa as a Native American female who was 17 years old when she disappeared. A Wisconsin DOJ missing-person poster lists her as approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and 150 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Some older online sources contain less complete physical information, illustrating how little publicly accessible documentation has historically existed concerning Lisa’s disappearance.

Lisa Disappears from the Menominee Indian Reservation

The Wisconsin Department of Justice lists Lisa as missing from Keshena in Menominee County and identifies her last known location as the Menominee Indian Reservation.

According to the state’s current missing-person poster, Lisa was last seen on the reservation in 1980. She has never been seen or heard from again.

Beyond those basic facts, authorities have publicly released remarkably little about the day Lisa vanished. Available official information does not explain where on the reservation she was last seen, who last saw her, what she was doing immediately beforehand, what she was wearing, or whether investigators believe she intended to leave.

Those missing details make it particularly important to distinguish documented information from theories that have circulated during the decades since Lisa disappeared.

Conflicting Dates in Lisa Ninham’s Case

One unusual aspect of Lisa’s case is the conflicting information about when she disappeared.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice currently lists Lisa’s missing date as November 1, 1980. However, a March 2023 edition of Menominee Nation News stated that Lisa was last seen in August 1980.

Some online discussions have consequently used an August date, while the current state record uses November 1.

Without additional documentation establishing why these records differ, November 1, 1980, is best treated as the current official Wisconsin DOJ date while preserving the earlier August 1980 reference as part of the case record.

Decades Without Answers

Lisa’s disappearance eventually became one of several long-running missing and murdered Indigenous person cases associated with the Menominee community.

In July 2020, Menominee tribal leaders and law enforcement drew renewed attention to Lisa’s disappearance while discussing several unresolved cases involving tribal members. Menominee Tribal Police officials said at the time that the cases remained under investigation and encouraged people to provide information even if they believed what they knew was insignificant.

The Menominee Tribe continued publicly remembering Lisa in subsequent Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/Persons awareness efforts. In May 2023, Lisa was among the missing and murdered relatives named when tribal leaders strengthened the Tribe’s MMIW/P resolution.

Lisa’s Case Added to National Missing-Person Databases

Lisa’s disappearance received additional national exposure decades after she vanished.

Her NamUs case was created in 2022, according to archived case discussion information. Her current NamUs identifier is MP95010.

The Charley Project added Lisa to its case collection in October 2022.

In December 2023, the Doe Network announced that Lisa had been added to its missing-person database as 4590DFWI.

These listings are significant because they make Lisa’s information more readily available to people researching missing persons and unidentified remains throughout the United States.

Latest Information on the Investigation

Lisa remains publicly listed as missing by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The state’s current missing-person poster continues to direct anyone with information to the Menominee Tribal Police Department.

There has been no publicly announced resolution of Lisa’s disappearance and no confirmed public report establishing what happened to her.

The case has also continued receiving public attention. In May 2025, Lisa’s name was among those read during a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives awareness event in Ashland, Wisconsin. She was identified among Wisconsin and Minnesota tribal members officially listed as missing or murdered.

The Wisconsin DOJ missing-person listing and poster also remain publicly available, continuing to identify Lisa as missing and asking the public for information.

There are online discussions attempting to compare Lisa with unidentified remains discovered in other cases. Unless law enforcement or another authoritative agency confirms such a connection, those comparisons should be treated strictly as public speculation rather than developments in Lisa’s investigation.

What Happened to Lisa Lynn Ninham?

More than four decades after Lisa disappeared, the publicly documented facts remain painfully limited.

There is no publicly established account explaining why she vanished, whether she left voluntarily, whether another person was involved, or what happened after she was last seen on the Menominee Indian Reservation.

What is established is that Lisa was only 17 years old, disappeared in 1980, and has never been seen or heard from again. Her case remains publicly listed, and authorities are still asking anyone with information to come forward.

Even information that seemed insignificant decades ago could potentially provide context investigators did not previously have.

Anyone with information concerning the disappearance of Lisa Lynn Ninham should contact the Menominee Tribal Police Department at 715-799-3881 or the Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults at 1-800-843-4673.