Michigan Cold Case: 1983 Murder of Tracy Forquer Still Unsolved

It's been more than four decades since 22-year-old Tracy Forquer was found outside a home on East Oakland Avenue in Lansing, Michigan, stabbed multiple times. It was October 25, 1983 — a date her family will never forget — and despite countless interviews and investigations over the years, Tracy's killer has never been found.

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Now, the Lansing Police Department is once again asking the public for help in solving this cold case. They're hoping that someone, somewhere, might remember something — a detail, a name, a rumor — that could finally bring closure to Tracy's family.

Background on Tracy Forquer and Her Life

Tracy Forquer was only 22 when she was brutally murdered, and her life was just getting started. Her family described her as beautiful, social, and full of life. The sixth of eight children, she too was a mother when her life was taken, as she was raising a one-year-old daughter who would grow up without a mom.

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Forquer's life wasn't as rosy as it sounds. According to a 1983 article in The Times Herald found at Newspapers.com, the home near which her body was found was notorious for drugs and prostitution. Forquer had been working as a prostitute at the time of her death, reportedly to fuel a drug habit her friends claimed to be between $100 and $150 a day.

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In the weeks leading up to her murder, Forquer's family says she was attempting to leave her life on the streets and even considered checking into a drug treatment center. Torn between a clean life with her family and no longer being able to socialize or even have contact with her "street family," she ultimately returned to drugs and prostitution.

Events of October 25, 1983

Her family stated that they didn't feel her death was related to prostitution, but was more than likely the result of a bad drug deal. Cold cases like Tracy's are notoriously difficult to solve — but they can be solved, often thanks to new technology or a tip that once seemed too small to matter. Lansing Police stress that no piece of related information is insignificant.

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Maybe someone remembers seeing something strange that night. Maybe a conversation heard years later. Even a single new lead could finally give Tracy's family the answers they've waited more than 40 years for.

How You Can Help Today

If you have any information about the October 25, 1983, murder of Tracy Forquer on East Oakland Avenue in Lansing, Michigan, you're urged to contact Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan at 517-783-STOP or submit a confidential tip at p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=903.