Matric Student Sets Out to Solve Her Aunt’s Cold Case After 25 Years

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It’s been 25 years since Desiree Reid went missing without a trace. In the years since, her family, especially her sister Janet and mother Jeanette, have carried the weight of her absence with grief, uncertainty, and hope that one day, they might bring her home. Now, Desiree’s niece, a bright and determined matric learner named Alyssa Joao, is picking up the torch.

Boksburg, South Africa (04 August 2025) – In a world where most teenagers are preoccupied with finishing high school and figuring out what comes next, one remarkable young woman is setting her sights on something far greater: solving a 25-year-old missing persons case that has haunted her family for decades.

Alyssa Joao, a matric learner at St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls in Boksburg, wasn’t even born when her aunt Desiree Reid went missing in January 2000. But the ache of that loss, and the unanswered questions surrounding it, have always been part of her family’s story. It’s a grief she’s carried through the memories of her mother and grandmother, and now, she’s determined to be the one who finally finds answers.

“The year 2000 was the year my Aunt Desiree went missing. Now, it is 2025, and she has still not been found — dead or alive. I often ask myself that last part: whether she is dead or alive — because that determines whether I will ever get to meet her.”

The words come from a powerful motivational letter Alyssa wrote while applying for scholarships to pursue her dream of studying Forensic Sciences, a field she believes could one day lead her to crack her aunt’s case.

Her path toward this dream has already been paved with dedication, excellence, and so much heart.

Alyssa has maintained top academic results and was named Dux Student at her school for three consecutive years. Her most recent report card speaks for itself: eight distinctions, an average of 92%, with no subject falling below the 80s or 90s.

But it’s not just about the grades, it’s about purpose.

“I used to want to be a vet,” she writes. “However, I came to realise that my urgency is both much closer and much farther from home – as close as my mother and grandmother’s grief, and as far as my aunt may be.”

In 2022, Alyssa paid tribute to her aunt in a song she co-wrote and performed titled Void, released on the True Crime South Africa (TCSA) podcast. It was a heartfelt effort to raise awareness around Desiree’s case – a case that, like many in South Africa, never made national headlines.

For Alyssa, this is personal.

“I may not know whether grieving this loss makes sense, but I do know that the South African justice system did us terribly wrong. This is a mistake that I want to help rectify.”

She plans to study a combination of Genetics and Forensics, fuelled by a dream to join the field of Forensic Pathology and one day use her skills to help solve not just her aunt’s disappearance, but cold cases all over the country.

“I have a natural talent for all things dark and strange and am skilled at critical thinking, analysis, and coming up with creative and unique solutions.”

Her commitment is anything but surface-level. She’s done the work. She’s earned the grades. Now she’s looking for the chance to turn her passion into purpose.

As she stands on the brink of adulthood, this driven and empathetic young lady is seeking a scholarship to study Forensic Sciences and an opportunity to job shadow professionals in the field. Her dream is to work in genetics and forensics, not only to bring her aunt home, but to help other families find answers, too.

As she writes: “I know my dream will take much longer to achieve than it did to dream up – but if I have waited eighteen years for my aunt, I can wait a few more for her justice, dead or alive.”

If you can help Alyssa achieve her goals in any way, please contact her mom, Janet, at janetjoao@yahoo.com.