Overview

Missing: August 26, 2007
Last Known Location: Area of 1800 W. Nash Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Age When Missing: 26
Current Classification: Missing adult
NamUs: MP35576
Investigating Agency: Milwaukee Police Department

Main circumstances: Valerie was last seen in Milwaukee on August 26, 2007 and has not been heard from since, according to Wisconsin authorities. A separate federal appellate record states that a woman named Valerie Luszak died in Milwaukee after using heroin on that exact date. Despite that federal record, Wisconsin authorities continue to list Valerie Marie Luszak as missing.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Valerie Marie Luszak Missing Person Case: Milwaukee, Wisconsin — August 26, 2007

Valerie Marie Luszak was 26 years old when she disappeared in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 26, 2007. Nearly two decades later, Wisconsin authorities continue to list her as a missing adult, and her case remains included in both the Wisconsin Missing Persons Clearinghouse and national missing-person databases.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Valerie was last seen in the area of 1800 W. Nash Street in Milwaukee on August 26, 2007. Authorities state that she has not been heard from since.

Valerie Luszak’s Disappearance

At the time she disappeared, Valerie was described as a white woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She stood approximately 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighed about 120 pounds.

Authorities listed two distinctive tattoos that could help identify her: a tattoo on her abdomen containing the name “Steven Robinson” and a tribal-symbol-and-rose tattoo on her back.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice lists Milwaukee as the city and Milwaukee County as the county from which Valerie disappeared. Some secondary missing-person databases have identified Brown Deer, Wisconsin, as the location associated with her disappearance, but the current Wisconsin DOJ record specifically gives her last known location as the 1800 block of West Nash Street in Milwaukee.

A Major and Unresolved Conflict in the Public Records

Valerie’s case contains an unusual discrepancy that deserves particular attention.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice currently identifies Valerie Luszak as a missing woman who disappeared August 26, 2007. Its public case page says she was last seen near 1800 W. Nash Street and has not been heard from since. The state also maintains a missing-person poster for her carrying NamUs number MP35576.

However, a 2013 opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit contains dramatically different information about a woman identified as Valerie Luszak.

In United States v. Walker, a federal heroin-conspiracy case originating in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the court stated that Valerie Luszak was one of five people who died after using heroin distributed through a large narcotics-trafficking organization.

According to the federal opinion, Valerie Luszak was in Milwaukee on August 26, 2007—the same date Valerie Marie Luszak is officially recorded as disappearing. The opinion says Luszak went to the home of a friend named Louis Brown and shared heroin with him. Brown reportedly warned her about the strength of the heroin. The court record states that she subsequently became unconscious and died several hours later.

The appellate opinion further states that Valerie Luszak was the only one of the five deaths connected to the prosecution that occurred in Milwaukee and that she appeared to have obtained heroin directly from a leader of the drug organization.

Are the Missing Valerie Luszak and the Woman in the Federal Court Case the Same Person?

The publicly accessible records reviewed for this article do not establish the answer conclusively.

There are striking similarities: both records use the name Valerie Luszak, both concern Milwaukee, and—most significantly—both give August 26, 2007 as the critical date.

But the current Wisconsin missing-person record does not mention a heroin overdose, a confirmed death, Louis Brown, or the federal drug investigation. Instead, it continues to state that Valerie disappeared and has not been heard from since.

The federal appellate opinion, meanwhile, unequivocally describes a Valerie Luszak as having died that night. The opinion was based in part on factual findings adopted during federal sentencing proceedings, but the publicly available appellate record does not provide enough identifying information about Luszak to independently match her to every identifying characteristic in the Wisconsin missing-person file.

Because of that discrepancy, it would be premature to report Valerie Marie Luszak as a confirmed homicide or overdose victim. Her current official Wisconsin record continues to classify her as missing.

Federal Heroin Investigation

The federal court case provides additional context that may be relevant to understanding the discrepancy.

The prosecution involved a large-scale heroin-trafficking organization. Five defendants pleaded guilty to federal drug offenses involving conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute more than one kilogram of heroin.

Federal authorities connected five deaths to heroin distributed by the organization: Joshua Carroll, Andrew Goetzke, David Knuth, Valerie Luszak and Jeffrey Topczewski.

The district court initially used the deaths when determining mandatory sentencing consequences for the defendants. On appeal, the Seventh Circuit examined whether particular defendants could legally be held responsible for deaths caused by drugs distributed through other parts of the conspiracy.

The appellate court ultimately vacated the sentences of Keith Walker and another defendant, Gladney, and ordered resentencing while affirming the other sentences. That ruling concerned sentencing responsibility within the drug conspiracy; it did not resolve the discrepancy between the federal description of Valerie Luszak’s death and the continuing Wisconsin missing-person case.

Latest Publicly Available Case Information

The most significant recent development located in publicly accessible missing-person records occurred in December 2023, when the Doe Network added Valerie Marie Luszak to its database as case 4587DFWI, identifying her as a 26-year-old Wisconsin woman missing since August 26, 2007.

More importantly, the Wisconsin Department of Justice continues to maintain Valerie’s case as an active missing-person listing. The state’s current online database lists her age as 45 and continues to state that she has been missing since August 26, 2007.

No publicly released announcement located for this article indicates that Valerie has been found or that Wisconsin authorities have closed her missing-person case.

The unresolved conflict with the federal court record remains one of the most noteworthy aspects of the case. Determining whether the woman discussed in United States v. Walker was Valerie Marie Luszak—or whether the identical name and disappearance date reflect an error, mistaken identity, or another circumstance—would require confirmation from the investigating agency or underlying case records.

Very Brief Case Summary

Missing: August 26, 2007
Last Known Location: Area of 1800 W. Nash Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Age When Missing: 26
Current Classification: Missing adult
NamUs: MP35576
Investigating Agency: Milwaukee Police Department

Main circumstances: Valerie was last seen in Milwaukee on August 26, 2007 and has not been heard from since, according to Wisconsin authorities. A separate federal appellate record states that a woman named Valerie Luszak died in Milwaukee after using heroin on that exact date. Despite that federal record, Wisconsin authorities continue to list Valerie Marie Luszak as missing.

How to Help

Anyone with information about Valerie Marie Luszak’s disappearance, her whereabouts after August 26, 2007, or information that could clarify the conflicting federal court record should contact the Milwaukee Police Department or the Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children & Adults.

Even information that may have seemed insignificant in 2007 could potentially help investigators clarify what happened to Valerie.