Missing Since: 2016-03-05 Location: Chicago, Illinois
Rouse was last seen in the vicinity of south Champlain Avenue and east 75th Street in Chicago, Illinois at 11:00 p.m. on March 5, 2016. She has never been heard from again. Rouse graduated from Illinois State University with a journalism degree; she dreamed of becoming a broadcast journalist. After college and giving birth to a daughter, she developed mental health conditions and started abusing substances to cope. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and her mother took custody of her daughter. She had an arrangement with her mother where her mother would reach out to her every few days by text or calling, and would go to the police if she didn’t hear back from her. Rouse was in an abusive relationship with her live-in boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, and her mother believes he could have been involved in her case. He was imprisoned after Rouse’s disappearance, and a corrections official offered to arrange a police interview with him, but the police declined. They never did interview him and he died about a year after his release from prison. The circumstances of her disappearance are unclear, but her mother believes she came to harm. Investigating Agency Chicago Police Department 312-747-8274 Source Information The Chicago Sun-Times The Chicago Tribune NamUs Sonya Rouse’s Facebook Page The Chicago Reader Updated 5 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated November 15, 2023; medical conditions and details of disappearance updated.