A former resident described the alleged conditions at a Dearborn Heights facility for vulnerable youth as the search for 16-year-old Tasia Keaton continues.
After Local 4 learned Dearborn Heights Police made 368 runs to the Vista Maria facility in just 2024 alone, we have been reviewing state documents, violations, and dozens more allegations made by former and current residents and former and current staff, in an effort to get answers.
A former resident from Standish, who was forced to stay at Vista Maria from July of 2020 to May of 2021, after becoming a ward of the state, reported disturbing conditions in the facility’s buildings, including an abandoned structure called Donna Maria, used for punishment.
“My hands were turning blue, because all I got was a blanket. There was no heat. There was no air, there was nothing in that building,” the former resident told Local 4 on Monday. “Even if the fire alarms went off, the doors could not open.”
She said girls were placed there “for misbehavior” and to prevent them from running away.
“I felt like my humanity was disregarded,” she said. “I’m traumatized. I was really traumatized, and I talk about it in therapy today.”
Read more -- Missing Tasia Keaton: Here’s everything we know as the search for the 16-year-old continues
She also said allegations of physical and sexual abuse “go back years,” with multiple employees.
“I was in Rose Hall, and definitely I went through a lot of, I’d say cruel punishment,” she said. “I went through a lot of [inappropriate] restraints. I remember I was writing in my room… and I got tackled like almost into a straddle position, like the guy was on top of me, straddling me. And I just remember with my hands pinned above my head, this is not okay. This is abuse.”
The former resident also described an incident involving another girl and a male staff member after she got upset on a phone call with her mother.
“She got upset, slammed the phone down, and this guy just grabbed her by her ponytail to the ground, and then looked at all of us sitting across from her and walked away,” she said. “It was really scary. I remember his face, his whole demeanor, everything, still to this day.”
She referenced another male staff member during her time there:
“He used to pick up girls on home visits, and they engaged in intercourse and stuff. I know he used to come to work under the influence and smoke in front of us,” she said.
She said she would also like to see the state step in and investigate the conditions, staff and abuse that she said went on “the whole time” she was there.
“Shut that place down as soon as possible. Shut it down,” she said. “Hire staff with a background in behavioral issues. Hire people that know what they’re doing instead of random strangers.”
There are two open investigations involving sexual contact between a former male staff member and two teen residents within the last several months, with one of the residents allegedly being Tasia Keaton.
Keaton reportedly ran away from Vista Maria on March 14. She was last seen on March 17 on gas station surveillance near the area of Beech Daly and Joy Road.
Dearborn Heights Police and assisting agencies are deeply concerned that she is in danger, as information has come to light that Keaton, who has a history of being sexually abused and trafficked, may be in a similar situation. And despite multiple credible tips in recent days, authorities have yet to locate her. An $8,000 reward is now being offered for information on Keaton’s disappearance.
Sources tell Local 4 the facility has not been forthcoming with personal property and information that would have assisted investigators on the case, and has not been cooperative in disclosing “vital” information in “a timely manner.”
Local 4 reached out to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services last week and again on Monday, and we are waiting to hear back. We are also waiting for further response from Vista Maria.
Statement from Vista Maria on April 17, 2025:
“At Vista Maria, the safety and well-being of the youth and families we serve is our top priority.
We alerted police immediately on March 14 when Tasia Keaton left our property and
initiated the search for her. We have been working with law enforcement ever since to help ensure her safe return. Our hearts go out to her aunt and the rest of her family during this difficult time.
Vista Maria has a 142-year history of providing trauma-informed care, mental health stabilization, foster care services, and education for youth who have experienced trauma."
Anyone with information about this case should contact Dearborn Heights Police at 313-277-6770, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP, or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678."
Statement from Vista Maria on April 17, 2025
