Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos

Jessica Lynn Heeringa











Heeringa, date, approximate 2013; Sketch of unidentified man; Jeffrey Willis
Date Missing 04/26/2013
Missing From
Norton Shores, Michigan
Missing Classification Endangered Missing
Sex Female
Race
White
Date of Birth 07/16/1987 (35)
Age 25 years old
Height and Weight 5'1, 105 pounds
Clothing/Jewelry Description A black tank top under a bright blue collared polo shirt with a Sternberg Exxon logo, blue jeans and high-heeled boots.
Associated Vehicle(s) Silver minivan, possibly a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country or a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan
Markings and/or Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Heeringa has a lazy eye. She has the following tattoos: a sun and moon on her right calf, sleeping Z's on her left foot, a star on her back and a musical note and a peace sign on her left ankle. She may wear wire-rimmed eyeglasses.
Details of Disappearance Heeringa was last seen working at an Exxon Mobile gas station in the 1100 block of east Sternberg Road in Norton Shores, Michigan on April 26, 2013. She had been working the late shift alone and disappeared sometime between 10:51 and 11:07 p.m., shortly before closing time. Her last cash register transaction took place at 10:51, and at 11:07 a customer found the station unattended. Authorities believe she was abducted.
Heeringa's coat, purse, keys, identification and $420 in cash were left inside the store, and her car was parked outside. There were no indications of a struggle and no money was missing from the cash register, but a small spot of her blood was found on the ground near the station's back door.
A witness reported seeing an unknown man flirting with Heeringa at the gas station hours before her disappearance. A sketch of the man is posted with this summary. He is described as Caucasian and in his thirties, about 6'0 tall with a medium to heavy build and wavy, sandy brown or blond hair. He was wearing a bright red or orange sweatshirt and was driving a silver minivan, possibly a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country.
The gas station has no surveillance cameras, but a camera from a business a mile away from it shows a silver minivan driving by at 11:04 p.m., around the time of Heeringa's disappearance.
In May 2016, over three years after Heeringa's disappearance, Jeffrey Thomas Willis was arrested and charged with kidnapping a sixteen-year-old girl, Madison Nygard, who was able to escape from him after he lured her into his van. Several days later, he was also charged with the murder of Rebekah Sue Bletsch, a 36-year-old woman who was shot to death while jogging in Dalton Township, Michigan in June 2014.
A photo of Willis is posted with this summary. When police searched his van they found a .22-caliber semi-automatic pistol with the serial number filed off, ammunition for the pistol, a sheathed knife, two video recorders, five syringes and bondage material.
Willis also had bondage pornography, child sexual abuse images, a five-page list of American serial killers, and a three-page list of women's names and telephone numbers in his home. Authorities believe he downloaded child sexual abuse material off the internet and used a hidden camera to record images of minor girls using the bathroom in his home; he's also been charged in connection with that.
Kevin Lavern Bluhm, Willis's cousin, was charged with lying to police in their investigation into Willis's suspected crimes, including Heeringa's disappearance. When he was questioned in mid-May 2016, he said he hadn't seen Willis for almost a year and had never seen him with a handgun. He was later convicted of being an accessory after the fact and sentenced to time served, which was 476 days.
But in an interview a month later, he admitted he'd seen Willis in early May and Willis showed him a handgun at that time. He said Willis forced him to "take care of Miss Heeringa." He said he saw Heeringa's nude body and she had head injuries and injuries consistent with sexual assault. At the end of the second interview, he claimed he had made everything up.
Willis's van, a silver 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan, resembles the one sought in Heeringa's disappearance, and according to his coworkers, he had been to her gas station many times before, as it was along his route to work. His coworkers stated he'd discussed Heeringa's with them after she went missing.
In November 2017, Willis was convicted of Bletsch's murder. He is still awaiting trial in connection with Madison Nygard's kidnapping. In September 2016,he was charged with Herringa's kidnapping and murder. Although the presented at his May 2018 trial was almost entirely circumstantial, the jury deliberated only an hour and a half before convicting him.
Heeringa's body has never been located, but police still hope to find it. Foul play is suspected in her due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency
Norton Shores Police Department
231-733-2691
Other
NamUs
ABC News
The Daily Mail
WOOD TV
Facebook Page for Jessica Heeringa
WXYZ Detroit
Muskegon News
Jessica Heeringa's MySpace Page
The Vanished Podcast

Missing Person Photos

A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, death in a location where they cannot be found (such as at sea), or many other reasons. In most parts of the world, a missing person will usually be found quickly. While criminal abductions are some of the most widely reported missing person cases, these account for only 2 to 5 percent of missing children in Europe. By contrast, some missing person cases remain unresolved for many years. Laws related to these cases are often complex since, in many jurisdictions, relatives and third parties may not deal with a person's assets until their death is considered proven by law and a formal death certificate issued. The situation, uncertainties, and lack of closure or a funeral resulting when a person goes missing may be extremely painful with long-lasting effects on family and friends. A number of organizations seek to connect, share best practices, and disseminate information and images of missing children to improve the effectiveness of missing children investigations, including the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), as well as national organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the US, Missing People in the UK, Child Focus in Belgium, and The Smile of the Child in Greece.

Resources for Missing Persons

According to current statistics, 4,000 people in the United States go missing every day. Sometimes a child suddenly vanishes from the bus stop or the local park or even from their own yard or bedroom. Or a teenager doesn�t return home after a walk to the neighborhood grocery store or a bike ride or a party with friends. Other times, an adult is mysteriously absent from their job or neighbors haven�t seen them for several days, and family and friends haven�t heard from them either.

Missing Person Case Updates with Photos