Thanksgiving Hope: Can You Help Find Christa Belusko?

For Thanksgiving in 2022, we brought you the story of Melissa Highsmith, a woman who was missing for more than 50 years and finally reunited with her family. Now, we’re hoping for another miracle, this time for the family of a missing baby: Christa Belusko.

On Sept. 20, 1991, the brutally beaten body of a young woman was found in a vacant lot in Staten Island, New York. It would take investigators almost three decades to identify the young woman as Christine Belusko and realize she had a 2-year-old daughter named Christa Nicole.

The two were last seen in September 1991 at the Mount Airy Lodge in the Poconos. The murder investigation also suddenly became a missing child case, too.

Today, The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office in New York are asking for the public’s help in finding Christa Nicole, who investigators believe may still be alive.

A forensic artist at NCMEC created an age progression image of what Christa may look like today at 35. Investigators are hoping that sharing images of Christa Nicole and the details of her mother’s murder will lead to new information.

“Our age-progressed images are critical tools for finding missing children who’ve grown into adults,” said Angeline Hartmann, director of communications at NCMEC. “We know that these images can help lead to answers, even in cases that are decades old. We ask everyone to share this image of Christa Nicole. You never know who might have the key to bringing her home.”  

The Murder of Christine Belusko:

• On the morning of Sept. 20, 1991, someone on their way to work noticed smoke rising from a field across from the Staten Island University Hospital on Seaview Road and alerted authorities. When the police arrived, they made a horrifying discovery: the body of a young woman, brutally murdered, handcuffed and set on fire. They were unsuccessful in identifying her.

Crime scene on Seaview Road circa 1991. (Credit: Richmond County DA’s Office)

• Detectives said the murder weapon, a hammer, and a pair of handcuffs were left at the scene. The hammer had the letter “L” and name Loyd engraved on the handle. The handcuffs were also unique. They had three links instead of the typical two. Police describe them as a type a security guard might use. 

Murder weapon and handcuffs. (Credit: Richmond County DA’s Office)

• In the spring of 2021, after years of joint efforts by the FBI, NYPD and the New York Medical Examiner’s Office, advancements in DNA techniques and genealogy finally uncovered the young woman’s identity: 30-year-old Christine Belusko from Clifton, New Jersey.

Christine Belusko. (Credit: Richmond County DA’s Office)

The Disappearance of Christa Nicole:

• When investigators notified Christine’s family of her death, they learned she had a 2-year-old daughter named Christa Nicole when she disappeared in 1991.

Left: Christine with Christa; Right: Christa in 1991. (Photos coutesy family friend)

• Investigators began digging into Christine’s past and learned she worked for Joyce Leslie, a popular clothing store back in the nineties.
  
  
• Friends told investigators that Christine moved out of her apartment in Clifton, New Jersey, and took her daughter to stay at the Mount Airy Resort in Mount Airy, Pennsylvania. She also told friends she was moving to Florida and not to look for her.

Christine with close friend Charlie. (Photo courtsey family friend)

• Detectives believe the last time anyone saw Christine and Christa Nicole was in the Poconos at the Mount Airy Lodge. Friends told police they made multiple attempts to find her and her child but had come to believe she’d just started a new life in Florida. 

Today, investigators and Christa’s family are still searching for answers. If you have information about Christine’s murder or Christa Nicole’s whereabouts, please call NCMEC at 1-800- 843-5678. View Christa Nicole’s missing poster here: https://www.missingkids.org/poster/NCMC/1454514/1.