Catherine Davidson Went Missing In 1973, Sister Claims Mother Killed Her
For many who have been actively involved with the case of Catherine Davidson, it’s believed that the young girl died at six-years-old. The story begins back in 1973 when young Catherine and her family took a trip to Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer, Michigan. They were enjoying a family picnic when Catherine apparently went with her five older siblings to walk around the area, but when the children returned, Catherine wasn’t with them. The little girl’s parents, father Robert and stepmother Anna, quickly contacted the authorities to help with search efforts. Not much was found other than a pair of green underpants but their connection to the case was unknown. This would have remained just another cold case if it wasn’t for Joy, Catherine’s little sister who was born after she went missing. Decades later, Joy walked into a police station and had a story to tell about an older sister she never met but heard had died after her parents locked Catherine in a closet.
Following Catherine Davidson’s disappearance, police were perplexed by Robert and Anna’s response to their missing daughter. The couple was reportedly seen laughing, drinking, and enjoying life with their friends, but there was no evidence to show that they were involved in any nefarious deeds. The remaining children, Catherine’s five older siblings, supported their parents’ recollection of what happened the day the six-year-old vanished. The case went cold, and people stopped searching for little Catherine.
Meanwhile, Robert and Anna would go on to lead an interesting life. The couple moved their family to Georgia, had another daughter named Joy, and later relocated to rural Florida where they launched a small church. Soon, others wanted to join the group—eventually amassing a congregation of 24 people. They reportedly followed a strict Old Testament teaching that included punishments of 33 lashes to mirror the punishment of Christ before the crucifixion. The House of Prayer For All was looking more like a cult as the days pressed forward, and members were forced on a strict kosher diet and made to wear full-length head-to-toe garb. Robert changed his name to Johan Young, while Anna went by Anna Young.
Robert died in 1988, and according to reports, it gave Anna the freedom to unleash her cruelty onto her followers. She was known to physically abuse members, and she was allegedly especially cruel to children. If anyone wanted to join the religious sect, Anna made them turn over their finances and change their names. She wouldn’t allow anyone to speak to their family members, and if they got out of line, people were tortured and starved for disobeying or falling into sin.
In 2017, Joy alerted authorities of crimes that she claims her mother committed. It had been over 40 years since Catherine disappeared, but Joy claimed she knew what happened. She said one of her other older sisters revealed to her that the family never went to the park the day Catherine went missing. What really occurred, according to Joy, was Anna bound and gagged the six-year-old and placed her in a closet at their Chicago home. The siblings reportedly heard their little sister scratching on the door as she tried to get out, and then in a moment, the noises stopped.
One of the sisters claimed she looked in the closet and saw Catherine laying in a fetal position. She was dead. What happened to Catherine after that remains unknown.
There would be other accusations of child abuse allegations against Anna Young. Joy also told authorities that within her mother’s cult, a toddler that Joy only knew as Moses Young had died—murdered by Anna, according to Joy. After Joy went to the police, the little boy was later identified as Emon Harper who was approximately two-years-old at the time of his death.
Another child, two-year-old Marcos Cruz, was reportedly abandoned at a church in Puerto Rico after Anna told his mother, one of her cult members, to rid herself of the child because he was “full of the devil.” Cruz’s fate is unknown. At sometime in 1992, it’s said that Anna Young forced a 12-year-old to bathe in bleach. The child was then tied to a bed where she was unable to care for the severe burns developing on her skin.
After seeing their daughter’s injuries, the 12-year-old’s parents rushed her to the hospital and Anna was hit with child abuse charges. She was convicted of that crime but instead of going to jail, Anna took Joy and went into hiding. Without her direction, the cult disbanded and Anna would finally answer for her crimes when she was located in Illinois in 2000. She served six months for that crime and upon release, Anna Young relocated to a rural area in Georgia. She managed to stay out of trouble for 15 years before Joy interrupted that lowkey living to tell authorities that her mother was a murderer.
During their investigation, authorities spoke with former members of Anna’s cult and they confirmed Joy’s reports of what she witnessed. In late 2017, Anna Young was charged with murder in connection to the death of two-year-old Emon Harper. She was 76-years-old when she was taken into custody. Three of Joy’s siblings who weren’t apart of the cult don’t believe the allegations against their mother. They reportedly accuse Joy of targeting their elderly mother in some sort of revenge plot.
If convicted, Anna Young faces life in prison or the death penalty.
At the time of her disappearance, Catherine Davidson stood 3 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 70 pounds. She had black/dark brown hair and brown eyes. Her hair was described as being “braided into tight rows,” but it’s unclear if they’re referring to cornrows. Catherine was last seen wearing a white blouse, blue shorts, and white sandals. She would be 54-years-old at the time of this publication.
Anyone with information about this decades-old case is urged to contact the Michigan State Police at (269) 683-4411 or their local authorities. Her case number is 54-1696-73.
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