Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | September 26, 1993
In the early 1990s, the Cambridge Plaza public housing complex in North Philadelphia was rocked by tragedy. Four murders shattered the community—including the heartbreaking loss of 10-year-old Tahira Maxwell.
A Child Who Never Came Home
Tahira was last seen on September 26, 1993, outside her high-rise apartment building.
She told friends she was going upstairs to change her shoes.
She never came back.
A massive search involving police, volunteers, and community members turned up nothing.
Her disappearance even received national attention after being featured on America’s Most Wanted.
A Discovery Nearly One Year Later
Then, in October 1994—nearly a year after she vanished—a maintenance crew replacing a rooftop vent cap made a horrifying discovery.
Tahira’s decomposed remains were found inside a rooftop ventilation shaft.
Investigators determined that someone had removed the vent cover, placed her unclothed body inside the shaft, and then carefully refastened the cover in an apparent attempt to conceal the crime.
Tahira was identified through her dental records and an ankle bracelet.
Because of the advanced decomposition of her remains, medical examiners could not determine whether she had been sexually assaulted.
More Than Three Decades Without Justice
Tahira was just 10 years old—a fourth-grade little girl with her entire life ahead of her.
More than 30 years later, her killer has never been identified, and her murder remains unsolved.
Anyone with information regarding the murder of Tahira Maxwell is urged to contact the Philadelphia Police Department Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
Someone has lived with the truth since 1993.
Tahira’s family deserves to know it.
© The Vivid Faces of the Vanished
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