FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – It’s been nearly four years since Danielle Stislicki mysteriously vanished, and her case is still unsolved.
Stislicki, 28, of Farmington Hills, walked out of her office in Southfield on Dec. 2, 2016, and was never seen again.
ORIGINAL STORY: Police seek missing 28-year-old Farmington Hills woman
At one point during the investigation, Stislicki’s family hoped she would be found alive. Now, they’re simply hoping for some closure.
“We want her found because we want to have a place for her,” Carol Stislicki, Danielle’s grandmother, said. “We don’t want her to be out there, like somebody’s garbage or something. She deserves a resting place.
“She was adventurous. She just had this spirit. Loved life. Always wanted to do the right thing by people. She was probably kind to a fault.”
Carol Stislicki said she doesn’t want anyone to forget about her granddaughter, so she’s speaking up about the mystery surrounding the disappearance.
“I think I knew from the beginning that she wasn’t going to be found the way we wanted, that something horrible had happened to her,” Carol Stislicki said.
You can see some photos of Danielle Stislicki in the gallery below.
Danielle Stislicki
Danielle worked at the MetLife building on Telegraph Road in Southfield. After her disappearance, her family’s search stretched from days into weeks.
WATCH: Danielle Stislicki’s mother, best friend testify at hearing in murder case
“I feel that she didn’t just walk away,” her father, Richard Stislicki, said at the time.
Three weeks later, police announced Danielle had been the victim of a crime, reminding everyone about what she was last seen wearing.
Days later, a home on Oxford Street in Berkley was searched. The home belonged to Floyd Galloway, a security guard who worked at the MetLife building.
Galloway has since been charged with premeditated first-degree murder in Danielle’s death. He awaits trial as the Stislicki family and friends search for answers.
They still don’t know what happened to her that night when she left work. Her body has not been recovered.
“I drive down the freeway and I look at the trees and I think about, ‘Did someone look there? Did someone walk into those woods and check? Do we know?’” Rachell Perrell, said.
Perrell has been friends with Danielle since the fifth grade.
“We both loved art,” Perrell said. “We were both in art class together. We both loved -- this is an odd one -- classic rock.”
Their friendship from childhood continued into adulthood.
“She loved moving around,” Perrell said. “She loved being in Detroit. She had a house in Westland. She had an apartment in Farmington (Hills).”
Danielle was living at that Farmington Hills apartment when she disappeared. Her muddy SUV was parked eight feet from her door. Police said that car and its contents hold valuable clues to the case.
“I don’t want to get into too much detail in front of the trial, but there were aspects of the car that were very concerning to us,” Farmington Hills police Chief Jeff King said.
As Galloway waits for his trial, Danielle’s family members and friends are learning more about the case against him.
“I was surprised watching the hearings at some of the evidence the police had, that they kept it so quiet that I audibly gasped a couple of times in sadness, but in excitement that, ‘Good, they have more than they were letting on,’” Perrell said.
READ: One of last people to see Danielle Stislicki testifies he saw her with Floyd Galloway
Does Perrell live differently because of her friend’s disappearance?
“Yes and no,” she said. “It makes you more concerned as a person, walking through a parking lot. It makes me less trusting. She was so trusting, and that is part of what made her, her.”
Meanwhile, Danielle’s mother, Ann Stislicki, clings to hope that the case will be solved. She still has a locket her daughter gave her for Mother’s Day the year of her disappearance.
“It says, ‘I’ll love you forever. I’ll love you for always, as long as I’m living,’” Ann Stislicki said.
“The longer this drags out, the more anxious I get,” Carol Stislicki said.
The family hopes 2021 will bring answers to the mystery, which has baffled Metro Detroit for nearly four years.