Jessica Lynne Masker was a 24-year-old mother from Indianapolis, Indiana. Deaf in one ear, she struggled in school and eventually dropped out. She had two young sons and worked as an exotic dancer.
Jessica was in a relationship with an older man. He was the father of her youngest son, and according to her family, he was violent. He regularly beat her and had even broken her bones. Jessica had an addiction to prescription medication, and as a result, her youngest was born premature and addicted to drugs. At two months old, the baby boy remained hospitalized.
Jessica was in a rough place, but she was trying to better her life for the sake of her sons. She was trying to beat her addiction and was pursuing a GED. Her mother, Cheri Edwards, explained the situation,
“She was taking drugs, she was trying to kick the habit, and she knew being pregnant and everything what would come and happen and everything with the baby where she had been beat that’s where she got into taking pills and he had beat her so bad so many different times he had messed her ankle up her hip was fractured like splintered down the hip through the spine.
Jessica was trying to fight her addiction. She was trying to overcome that so she could get her son back, so she could have her son.”
On April 15, 2013, Jessica’s aunt gave her a ride to her cousin’s Indianapolis house. She had just been released from the hospital. Her boyfriend was later arrested for having assaulted her.
It was around 3 AM when Jessica had an argument with her cousin and decided to leave. She walked to a nearby gas station on East Washington Street.
Jessica called her brother and asked him for a ride, but he was on his way to work. During the call, she mentioned that “two men came at her wrong.” He told her to call their mother, but Jessica never did. Instead, she called her boyfriend, who agreed to pick her up. She told him she was at the gas station but was going to walk down East Washington Street.
Jessica was last seen leaving the gas station around 4:30 AM.
At the time, authorities said they did not suspect foul play in Jessica’s disappearance. However, they did question her boyfriend, who claimed to have no idea what happened to the mother of his son. When asked if she believed him, IMPD Detective Monica Endres said “no.”
According to the family, it was highly unusual for Jessica to be out of touch with them. They do not believe she left on her own accord as she wouldn’t abandon her sons.
The grief-stricken family holds a yearly vigil in memory of Jessica. In 2021, they set up a GoFundMe to collect money for a reward, hoping it will incentivize people with information to come forward. Despite the police investigation and the family’s continuous search, no sign of Jessica has been found.
Her sisters have asked the public to help spread her story as they don’t believe the media covered the case enough. Christina pled,
“We don’t understand what the difference between all these other young women that go missing and my sister’s case; all of them are human. We haven’t got the attention from the media like we feel like we should. We need help, all we’re asking is just please help us.”
Jessica has been missing for nine years. If alive, she is now 33 years old. She often visited her youngest son in the hospital, but she went missing before she knew he’d survive.
Her youngest sister, Ashley, wants to know what happened, even if it means admitting Jessica isn’t alive anymore,
“If she’s not here anymore, tell us something. We are asking you if she’s not here no more, please tell us. My sister deserves a funeral; if she’s not here we need closure. Please tell us something.”
