MI MI - Jessica Heeringa, 25, Norton Shores, 26 April 2013 #6

[cluciano63]

Yeah, they were quite sure that they were not hers. The frames were different according to the boyfriend. I think Imamaze has the MSM article dates stamped down in the info thread.

But are hers missing?

 

[Tonto]

I agree. Let's play "If I were Jess's abductor"

#1. I'd get rid of that Blue Exxon Shirt. It's probably on the side of the highway somewhere. (That would be something to look for in a ground search on the side of nearby roads and highways.)

JMO

I would say 'dump or hide the van' as #2 but that wouldn't even be possible with competent investigators. Eight weeks and they still haven't found a registered van where they know the brand, model, likely year, and color is utterly absurd. Even if it is on the bottom of Lake Michigan, its owner should have been found by now. It's just poor, poor, poor work on the part of LE. Simply no excuse for it. IMO.

 

[jenstar]

But are hers missing?

http://fox17online.com/2013/05/02/glasses-dont-belong-to-jessica-heeringa/#axzz2W9QCnriP

I would assume so. If you look over to the right side it says "she's known to wear wire rimmed glasses".

So my guess is they're not at the house (since the BF wouldn't eve have looked at the ones found, if he had her originals) and they weren't in her purse (found at the gas station). So they assume they were on her face..? JMO

 

[goldenbear]

I urge all of you to promote the color drawing. It's the best idea I have heard in a long time. And the only fresh idea in this case.

 

[jenstar]

#3. Get out of dodge! If I have a girl in the back of my van/vehicle/trailer/saddlebag (possibly injured or not) and she doesn't belong there..I'm skipping town. JMO

 

[jenstar]

I urge all of you to promote the color drawing. It's the best idea I have heard in a long time. And the only fresh idea in this case.

I'm starting to take the stance that the "witness" wouldn't know their butt from a hole in the ground. And the only way to get it colorized properly would be to talk to them. And even then it probably wouldn't be accurate because it's been over a month since the original was made. And if a private party colorizes it even WITH the witness present that doesn't mean it would fly with LE. It could get someone charged with "interfering with an investigation charge." But that's just my opinion.

 

[Tonto]

I suppose he could be from Canada and his van registered there, but there are cameras at all entry points. The entry points are near Sarnia and Windsor in the east (3+hour drive) and the farthest away is Sault Ste. Marie to the north (5+hour drive). I tend to agree with her parents that this cat is probably relatively local though (within 20-30 mi), and as such it is an utter shame they have not located him (and her) with all of the information they have. Even if he isn't local, if the van is registered in the US - and particularly Michigan - this perp should have been found and frog marched by now. Again, really shoddy investigative work bordering on the inept. JMO.

 

[princessk]

OK, so if she had on glasses, and there was some blood found, I would think he did not punch her in the face (nose bleed) or some kind of shot to the head or her glasses would be found in the ground. Correct? So where would the blood have come from? I keep thinking this is odd. A stab wound would surely produce more than a few droplets? I'm perplexed by this case. Any ideas?

 

[cluciano63]

If the witness could not even tell the man's race, not sure how color is going to help, two months later.

 

[missgulfsouth]

I was reading about an older, unrelated case about a little murdered boy. Sometimes I like doing that just to take a break from cases now and/or learn from long-term unsolved cases. Anyway, a little boy was kidnapped and a witness swore that they saw a man and a truck by where the boy was kidnapped. So, the cops released a sketch and the vehicle information and the idea was that they thought this was the truck and kidnapper. Now, over two decades later one of the cops from the case said he regrets that because they are having doubts whether that man or the truck were even involved or exist.
Serious cold chill-I hope they are EXTREMELY sure the van and man pictured were involved in this case. At least we have video confirmation that a van exists and was in the area. Can you imagine 20+ years going by and then having one of the cops say, well, the van may not have even been related? Disappearances seem so hard to solve though because obviously if a witness saw a vehicle and man that could be involved you have to get that information out there.

I am not sure where I am going with this, but it is disheartening that we are approaching the two month mark and I am getting vague Holly Bobo feelings which is not a good thing.

The fact is, a van was seen on video in the area of the abduction at that very time. The driver of that van should have come forward by now if they were not involved. How many people who were in the area that night have not heard of Jessica's case? How many have not seen the video of the van on the nightly news? Surely the driver of that van would recognize themselves, right? RIGHT???? Please don't tell me that the majority of people walk around with their head in the sand when a woman's life is at stake. I would really like to believe that my fellow mankind is generally good and practices common sense, but it's getting harder and harder all the time. :facepalm:

 

[missgulfsouth]

I agree. Let's play "If I were Jess's abductor"

#1. I'd get rid of that Blue Exxon Shirt. It's probably on the side of the highway somewhere. (That would be something to look for in a ground search on the side of nearby roads and highways.)

JMO

If he took her for reasons that I am inclined to believe, the Exxon shirt made no difference to him. She wasn't going anywhere that people would see her.

 

[missgulfsouth]

Knowing Northern Michigan like I do, I think I can offer some insight as to what an abductor might do. I believe he is local-ish, since LE believes she knows him, and the fact that she went outside with a customer indicates that she was comfortable with him. If he is local, he either took her to his house, which means he is unmarried, or he killed her and she is in the woods. I think the Manistee National Forest needs to be searched. Lakes are plentiful, as well, but chances of her being found in a lake are far greater than if she were buried in the woods. I would not want to be abducted in Michigan, there are a LOT of places that a body would never be found.

 

[jenstar]

OK, so if she had on glasses, and there was some blood found, I would think he did not punch her in the face (nose bleed) or some kind of shot to the head or her glasses would be found in the ground. Correct? So where would the blood have come from? I keep thinking this is odd. A stab wound would surely produce more than a few droplets? I'm perplexed by this case. Any ideas?

I thought about that too. And I KNOW there's a way they can tell what type of blood it was IE whether it was capillary or venous blood (IIRC). My theory is that he had a knife to her throat at some point and when she resisted she accidentally got nicked or he cut her to show her he was serious. JMO

They could also tell about how far the blood dropped in relation to it's size.

About different types of blood;
http://www.bd.com/vacutainer/labnotes/Volume17Number1/composition_differences.asp

About blood and stain analysis:
http://books.google.com/books?id=KT... and capillary blood at a crime scene&f=false

 

[jenstar]

If he took her for reasons that I am inclined to believe, the Exxon shirt made no difference to him. She wasn't going anywhere that people would see her.

Well, in case they were going anywhere or had arrived at their destination it would be the dead give-away. I can see him getting pulled over with her as his unwilling or unconscious passenger.
I agree that he had sinister plans in mind. I wonder if he thought about "point-A to point-B" though.
If it were all per-meditated or not?
Because we can only think like a predator if we know how far he was willing to go. Or if it were a crime of opportunity. MHO

 

[cluciano63]

I am not sure that these types of crimes are always as well-planned as we think. Look at how Mickey Shunick's abduction and murder actually happened; certainly not the way the murderer had anticipated. And he drove a long way with both her and her bike in his truck. I think the "lust" or rage or whatever causes them to dismiss logistics at times.

This perp could have taken Jessica many miles away,counting on a delay in details getting to LE (which happened) or maybe not have thought about it at all. He may have had his place picked out (to take her) and just headed there.

I agree that some searching needs to be done, but it would be difficult to know where to begin. Consulting with TES might provide some ideas, based on their experience.

 

[jenstar]

The fact is, a van was seen on video in the area of the abduction at that very time. The driver of that van should have come forward by now if they were not involved. How many people who were in the area that night have not heard of Jessica's case? How many have not seen the video of the van on the nightly news? Surely the driver of that van would recognize themselves, right? RIGHT????



Please don't tell me that the majority of people walk around with their head in the sand when a woman's life is at stake. I would really like to believe that my fellow mankind is generally good and practices common sense, but it's getting harder and harder all the time. :facepalm:

I'm taking this in two parts.
No one knows an exact time, just that it was between customers.
*Male customer/witness says he saw the van but only heard the guy somewhere about 9pm (IIRC)

*Passerby/Co worker says "I saw a guy in a van leave (when they were in a different parking lot) and this is what he looked like."

Is there a different witness and I have those two statements combined? Or is that about it? (my mind's kinda foggy..it's been a long day)

*Then the 911 call with no clerk to attend the station.

*The time-stamp on the first video which showed the van was wrong (the grainy one). So who knows what time it actually passed by. (For all we know it could have stopped somewhere in between? My opinion)

*The second video was of better quality and the time stamp was right.

Second part.

When I lived in Detroit and even in the suburbs, you could barely look a person in the eye and wave without them thinking you're a freak. People there are so busy with their own lives that everyone else's are "none of their concern." It may not be like that everywhere in Michigan. But I remember getting a hefty "screw-off" when I was just trying to help a lady load bags into her car at the grocery store. (She looked at me as if I were crazy.) Unfortunately, we live in this world of people that are out for number one. I'm just glad I have awesome people here to make up for that. And for Jessica. I hope it neutralizes it and we can get down to business. JMHO

 

[helpful]

I'm starting to take the stance that the "witness" wouldn't know their butt from a hole in the ground. And the only way to get it colorized properly would be to talk to them. And even then it probably wouldn't be accurate because it's been over a month since the original was made. And if a private party colorizes it even WITH the witness present that doesn't mean it would fly with LE. It could get someone charged with "interfering with an investigation charge." But that's just my opinion.

Whenever I look at the picture, I think about the Jaclyn Dowaliby abduction/murder. An eyewitness placed her father at the scene where her body was found and said that he identified him in the dark from a great distance because of his nose. His account later came under scrutiny and it was realized that there was no way he could have positively identified anyone under those conditions. The father was subsequently exonerated. I think the witness in the JH account is similar - while he may be sure of what he saw, I am not, and I am not convinced that the sketch is a 10 out of 10.

 

[Some1Nose]

Well since sketching (color or b/w) "10 out of 10" quality eye-witness accounts and doing data base searches for silver vans from the comfort of the PD station is not working, how about we try a good old fashioned grid search in the actual physical world of the surrounding area. We could even use a little deductive reasoning and map out the search grid accordingly. Oh wait , we don't want to do field searches because the searchers might "muck up" the potential crime scene. :scared:

I totally agree! K9 SAR searches should have been done right away but, better late than never, imho!

 

[Some1Nose]

Did the witness who called 911 reporting that no employees appeared to be at the station wait for the police to arrive or did he just give his account over the phone and at a later time talk to LE?

Just wondering because if the witness left before the police arrived (probably not) the abductor could have been hiding in the back of the station with Jessica (threatening her to remain quiet) and then slipped out the back door and into the 'get-a-way' vehicle after the witness left; as, I thought it was said by the witness that there were two vehicles at the station? We know one was Jessica's. Who did the other one belong to? I seem to recall that this witness reportedly copied down the license plate numbers of the vehicles at the station...does anyone else remember hearing that? If so, then LE must have run any other plates besides Jessica's. The witness wasn't counting his own vehicle in the tally was he?

Also, I don't understand what the customer getting gas at 9:00 pm on 4/26 and flirting with Jessica has to do with the abduction. Men flirt all the time with attractive females, it normally doesn't amount to much. I know we can't decide who the suspects are so I will simply say that If I were a member of this LE investigative team, I'd be interested in talking more to the approx 9:00 pm witness who, I believe, it was reported worked across the street at a cigar shop?

All IMOO

 

[Treelights]

Did the witness who called 911 reporting that no employees appeared to be at the station wait for the police to arrive or did he just give his account over the phone and at a later time talk to LE?

Just wondering because if the witness left before the police arrived (probably not) the abductor could have been hiding in the back of the station with Jessica (threatening her to remain quiet) and then slipped out the back door and into the 'get-a-way' vehicle after the witness left; as, I thought it was said by the witness that there were two vehicles at the station? We know one was Jessica's. Who did the other one belong to? I seem to recall that this witness reportedly copied down the license plate numbers of the vehicles at the station...does anyone else remember hearing that? If so, then LE must have run any other plates besides Jessica's. The witness wasn't counting his own vehicle in the tally was he?

Also, I don't understand what the customer getting gas at 9:00 pm on 4/26 and flirting with Jessica has to do with the abduction. Men flirt all the time with attractive females, it normally doesn't amount to much. I know we can't decide who the suspects are so I will simply say that If I were a member of this LE investigative team, I'd be interested in talking more to the approx 9:00 pm witness who, I believe, it was reported worked across the street at a cigar shop?

All IMOO

Yes, the gentleman that called 911 stayed around until the police came. He told several people, that arrived after him at the gas station, not to go into the store as the police should be arriving momentarily.