Michigan Mother, Jessica Heeringa, 25, Disappears From Late Night Shift at Gas Station. LE still looking for clues, thinks she was abducted.

By ALYSSA NEWCOMB (@alyssanewcomb) and TAI HERNANDEZ
April 28, 2013
The disappearance of a Michigan mother who was last seen working the late shift at a gas station was reclassified today as an abduction, as the woman's family pleaded for her safe return.

Jessica Heeringa, 25, made her last sale at the Exxon gas station in North Shores, Mich., at 11 p.m. Friday, police said. She was preparing to close the store for the night, but 15 minutes later authorities said they received a call from a concerned customer reporting that there was no employee at the open gas station.

"She was going to get out in 15 minutes," Shelly Heeringa, Jessica's mother, told ABC News. "In 15 minutes that store would've been closed and she would've been on her way home."

Heeringa's purse and keys were left behind and the cleaning supplies she always took out at closing time were on the counter, her mother said.

North Shores Police Chief Daniel Shaw said today that it appeared robbery was not a motive, and that the store's cash drawer was left untouched.

The gas station was not outfitted with surveillance cameras, so investigators are relying on tips to help them zero in on what happened during the 15 minute time frame Heeringa went missing.

Shaw said authorities are looking for a silver minivan, possible a Chrysler Town and Country, that was seen in the area prior to Jessica's disappearance.

Shelly Heeringa said someone saw her daughter "walk out of the store with this guy like there was no problem," but when they got to his van, a struggle ensued.

"If somebody did take her, I wish they would just drop her some place so she could come home," Heeringa said of her daughter.

"She's just a hard working girl. She was trying to support her child," she said. "She was trying to get her life going and she just needs to come home."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/michigan-mother-disappears-late-night-shift-gas-station/story?id=19061637#.UX3IwqLU-UN

Norton Shores missing person's mom: Jessica Heeringa is 'loved by everyone'
Print By Delal Pektas | dpektas@mlive.com
on April 28, 2013 at 4:45 PM, updated April 28, 2013 at 7:48 PM

NORTON SHORES, MI -- Shelly Heeringa, mother of the missing gas-station employee whose disappearance is being investigated as an abduction by Norton Shores Police, tried hard to hold back her tears as she talked about her daughter Sunday, April 28.

Just outside the Exxon Mobil gas station, located at 1196 E. Sternberg Road, where her daughter Jessica Heeringa, 25, went missing during a shift late on Friday night, Shelly Heeringa was passing out fliers with her daughter’s picture on them to help get the word out.

“I’m doing better today than I was yesterday. It feels good to be out,” Shelly Heeringa said. “Yesterday, I didn’t want to do anything. This scenario kept playing in my mind, so it’s good to be out here and see support.”

Shelly Heeringa said she believes someone who came to the gas station regularly “lured (Jessica Heeringa) out the back and shoved her in the back of the van.”

“I’m sure she was abducted,” Shelly Heeringa said. “(There was) no struggle. She was cleaning a machine, she left her car keys, (and) no money was taken from the gas station.”

She added that she does not recall Jessica Heeringa complaining about any particular person or an incident that might have led to her missing. She does recall telling her daughter several times that she was concerned for her working late at night by herself.

“She said, ‘Mom, don’t worry. I can handle anybody,’” Shelly Heeringa recalled.

Jessica Heeringa’s grandmother, Diane Homrich, said Jessica was very friendly, outgoing and enjoyed talking to the customers.

“(She) figured maybe someone needed help,” Homrich said. “She would be the first one to help.”

According to the Norton Shores Police Department, there were no security cameras operating at the gas station at the time of the alleged abduction.

Homrich said she is trying to hold up, although when she thinks of Jessica Heeringa’s face she can’t help but get emotional

“(It’s) just so shocking,” Homrich said.

Along with Jessica Heeringa’s immediate family, some local residents also stopped by at a spot near the gas station to pick up fliers and help spread the word.

Derek Antol of Norton Shores said he went to the Exxon Mobil gas station several times a week and when he heard the news that Jessica Heeringa went missing, he was “dumfounded.”

“I didn’t know her, I didn’t even know her name until this,” Antol said. “But she was always very sweet, friendly gal.”

Antol said he is offering $500 for any information that would lead up to an arrest.

“I would hope if it was my kid people would show up here to support me,” Antol added. “I am very surprised that people aren’t here.”

Shelly Heeringa said she prays for her daughter’s safe return.

“She’s loved by everyone,” she said. “She has a 3-year-old boy who is missing his mom and wants her back.”

Jessica Heeringa is a white female, 5 feet 1 inch tall, about 110 pounds, with blond, shoulder-length hair and blue eyes. Heeringa is also known to wear wired rim glasses. She may be wearing a blue collared shirt with “Sternberg Exxon" on it.

Anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity near the Exxon Mobil gas station is asked to contact Silent Observer at 231-72-CRIME (231-722-7463) or call 911.

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/04/norton_shores_missing_persons.html

http://fox17online.com/2013/04/28/update-jessica-heeringa-case-now-considered-an-abduction/#axzz2RoLd7DIl

http://www.everyjoe.com/2013/04/28/crime/11-jessica-heeringa-pictures-abducted-from-michigan-gas-station/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+b5media%2Feveryjoe+%28EveryJoe%29&pid=2126

Suspect, Vehicle Described In Jessica Heeringa Abduction

1 hour ago
by Mitch Fick
Reporter

NORTON SHORES, Mich. — A minivan and a white male are now being sought in the abduction case of a Norton Shores mother.

Jessica Heeringa, 25, went missing around 11:15 p.m. Friday – just as she was finishing her shift at the Exxon Mobil gas station on East Sternberg Avenue.

Investigators say no money was taken from the store’s cash register, and all of Heeringa’s possession were untouched.

Police say the station did not have security cameras at the time of the incident. Heeringa was also working by herself.

Kristen Wilder, a co-worker of Heeringa’s, posted on Facebook Sunday that “we all were well aware that there were no cameras, and we would be working alone.”

FOX 17 went into the store on Sunday and saw that cameras had been installed since the abduction.

Authorities are now looking for a silver minivan – possibly a Chrysler Town & Country – that could be involved.

“A passerby had observed this vehicle near the store, parked near the store, and observed the vehicle driving away,” Shaw says.

Police are also looking for a white male between 30 and 40 years old – medium to heavy build with broad shoulders – with light brown or sandy blonde hair.

There’s a chance Heeringa knows her abductor.

“As a store clerk, she has contact with a lot of people,” Shaw says. ”Most of the people who have talked to us so far have indicated that she’s a very pleasant person – very sociable – so she engages in conversation with all of her customers, so it’s very possible that she may have known this person.”

Wilder agreed on Facebook, citing that the store typically has the same customers regularly: “This was also NOT just some random person that took her,” she posted. ”It was someone she knew.”

Heeringa is 5-foot-1 and 110 pounds. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, and occasionally wears wire-frame glasses. She could also be wearing a blue “Sternberg Exxon” polo shirt – the one she would have been wearing while at work that night.

If you have any information about events that led to Heeringa’s abduction or any leads in the case, contact the Norton Shores Police Department, Silent Observer, or the FBI.

Read more: http://fox17online.com/2013/04/28/suspect-vehicle-described-in-jessica-heeringa-abduction/#ixzz2RouZ86f2

April 29, 2013 9:50 AM

Jessica Heeringa Missing: Mich. mom vanishes during late night shift at gas station

By Branden Cobb Topics Daily Blotter
Jessica Heeringa / CBS Detroit WWJ (CBS) NORTON SHORES, Mich. -- Police in Michigan are searching for Jessica Heeringa, an Exxon gas station clerk, who reportedly disappeared from the station on Friday night, according to officials.

Officials believe the 25-year-old mother was closing the store when she was abducted, according to CBS affiliate WWJ. Her purse and other personal belongings were found at the gas station. There was also no money missing from the cash drawer, reports the station.

Police said there was apparently no struggle inside the store, MLive reported.

Police are now searching for a silver minivan, which may be a Chrysler Town and Country, that was seen at the station before Heeringa's disappearance.

Police are describing the driver of the van as a white male, between 30 and 40 years old, about six feet tall, with a medium to heavy build and broad shoulders. The driver had light brown or sandy blonde wavy hair and was last seen wearing a bright red or orange sweatshirt, reports MLive.

Heeringa is described as a white female, about five feet, one inch tall and 110 pounds, with shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes. She reportedly wears wire rim glasses and may be wearing a blue collared shirt labeled with "Sternberg Exxon."

Anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity near the Exxon Mobil gas station is asked to contact Silent Observer at 231-72-CRIME (231-722-7463) or call 911.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57581835-504083/jessica-heeringa-missing-mich-mom-disappears-from-late-night-shift-at-gas-station/

Police: Michigan gas station clerk abducted, officers follow big clue

10:45 AM, April 29, 2013

Jessica Heeringa, 25, was apparently abducted Friday in Norton Shores, Mich. Police are seeking information on a silver minivan and its male driver seen in the area about the time of her disappearance. / Norton Shores Police Department/Associated Press

Police in the southwest Michigan city of Norton Shores are treating the disappearance of a 25-year-old woman as an abduction.

Jessica Heeringa disappeared Friday from work at the Exxon Mobile gas station on Sternberg Road in Norton Shores, in Muskegon County, sometime between 11 and 11:15 p.m., according to police.

During a news conference Sunday, Police Chief Daniel Shaw announced they have a suspect.

Police interviewed four people who know her, but ruled them out as suspects. They now have one suspect but haven't released a sketch yet.

The driver is described as a white male, approximately 30-40 years old, approximately 6 feet tall, wearing a bright red or orange sweatshirt.

Jessica is described as a white female, 5'1, approximately 110 lbs., with blond shoulder length hair and blue eyes. Jessica is also known to wear wire-rimmed glasses. She may be wearing a blue-collared shirt saying "Sternberg Exxon.”

"Her car, keys, everything left at the station," said her mother, Shelly Heeringa.

Jessica's family and friends didn't wait for police to declare her abducted. They formed a search team Sunday afternoon right next to the gas station.

Shelly Heeringa, her family and her friends are now in "go" mode.

"We're going to go towards Grand Haven and Spring Lake area," said one family friend.

They're trying to get Jessica's face on every street corner and business window in West Michigan.

WZZM (Ch. 13, Grand Rapids) went along as they put up "Missing" posters in the area.

"I want to make sure to hit the Dollar General and Showcase Cinema," said Shelly.

Police are now going off one big new clue, and they hope the public will help them out. Chief Shaw says a Chrysler Town and Country minivan was reported to have been seen in the area of the Exxon station prior to Jessica's disappearance.

The Chrysler minivan raised suspicion because it may have been there in the past.

"Other people have contacted them from other gas stations about a gray van pulling up to their gas station and just sitting there staring at the girls who are working inside. And then they take off," said Shelly.

Heeringa and Shaw believe the person was probably a past customer. They say Jessica's a friendly girl, and there were no signs of a struggle.

"She's very helpful, that's why I think he lured her out of the gas station," said Heeringa. "He knew there wasn't security cameras."

And though store employees told WZZM 13 on Sunday that they had security in place before Friday, Heeringa says that's not what the owner told her.

"He said he likes to hire the young pretty girls because it brings in more customers. And he only had $3,000 in drive-off gas so he didn't think is was worth putting in a $5,000 security system.“

Heeringa and her parents say at this point they have to focus not on what security would have found, but what they can do to find Jessica.

"The best would be to see Jessie's face, and not a picture," said Heeringa, who added that Jessica has a three-year-old son and boyfriend who miss her very much.

"I think she's a little scrapper. He'll have a hard time with her," said Jessica's grandfather, Roman Homrich.

The FBI is expected to become involved soon.

In the meantime, a Norton Shores resident came up to the family today and offered his own $500 reward for anyone who steps forward with information.

He's asking the entire community to help find Jessica.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Silent Observer at 231-72-CRIME (231-722-7463) or call 911.

http://www.freep.com/article/20130429/NEWS06/304290046/Michigan-missing-woman-case-gets-tips-from-around-country

This does not sound good. Reminds me of Samantha K. in Alaska.

It sure sounds like it Nite. It's just not safe for these young females to work alone so late no matter where they live.

Police: Michigan gas station clerk abducted, officers follow big clue

http://www.freep.com/article/20130429/NEWS06/304290046/Missing-Michigan-woman-case-gets-tips-from-around-U-S-

Jessica Heeringa Missing Update: Friends, family reportedly searching for missing mother

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57581863-504083/jessica-heeringa-missing-update-friends-family-reportedly-searching-for-missing-mother/

I posted that exact link but it's good to see you here, Ruth!

This family should be suing the pants off the owner for NOT having surveillance.

Update: Norton Shores woman Jessica Heeringa remains missing after three days of searching -- and now a reward is being offered for information in the amount of $1,500. That's not the only update in this rapidly developing case. As of April 29, 2013 police report that tips are coming in from all over the country. Will these numerous tips prove helpful in locating the missing woman and the suspect who might have kidnapped her?

The updates to this case continue pouring in faster than they can be compiled, but there is a lot of information surfacing about the missing woman. For instance, this is her Myspace page -- but it's unknown as to how long it's been since she accessed it. She appears to be a few years younger in the photos shown on the page. The details on the social network profile paint a picture of an ordinary young woman. However, she might participate in a high risk lifestyle -- as could be gleaned from her language and references to drug use, drinking and sex. On the other hand her profile (with accompanying blog) showcases a sensitive person with a flair for poetry. In fact, the missing young mother wrote these words in 2009 to an unidentified person:

"I'm carrying half of you inside me, literally and figuratively, alone like you promised I wouldn't be. Off loving someone, somewhere else. A man came through my work and I stared because he stood like you, walked like you."

Was she alluding to her pregnancy? Was she making a reference to staring at men who entered her workplace? Did she work at Exxon back in 2009? There don't appear to be any Facebook pages for this young woman, but there is now an official page dedicated to the search for her. Hopefully this profile will continue posting as much information as possible while officials investigate her strange disappearance.

Who kidnapped Jessica Heeringa?

So far it looks like it might have been someone who watched her at work, but was it a stranger? Was her kidnapper someone who never talked to her before, or someone who frequented the Exxon station? Or was it someone she did in fact know? Today her family will be passing out flyers in the Norton Shores area, but they will also be seeking answers with hopes that someone will see her face and know what happened to her. The man who kidnapped her is believed to be in his 30s, be broadly built and might have been wearing an orange sweatshirt. He was driving a newer model silver minivan. This man could be someone's father, someone's husband, someone's brother or coworker or boss. If any of the details related to this kidnapping seem familiar to someone, they may be inspired to speak up. The $1,500 reward also helps.
http://www.examiner.com/article/jessica-heeringa-update-stranger-abduction-or-familiar-foul-play

http://www.myspace.com/blackrain77

https://www.facebook.com/FindJessicaHeeringa

(CBS/AP) - The family of a Michigan mother that vanished from the gas station where she worked say they believe she may have been trying to help the person who abducted her, police said.
PICTURES: Mich. mom vanishes from gas station

Police say they believe Jessica Heeringa, who was working the night shift, was abducted from the Exxon Mobil station in Norton Shores, Michigan last Friday night. There is still no sign of the 25-year-old mother.

Police are now investigating the case as an abduction, and they say they've identified a suspect. Four persons of interest have been interviewed and cleared as suspects, police said, reports MLive.

"The family believes that Jessica more than likely left to help(someone) in some way," said Norton Shores Police Chief Daniel Shaw. "Their belief is that someone that she's either acquainted with or someone she was trying to help lured her out."
Norton Shores Police Chief Daniel Shaw said relatives, friends and other people associated with Heeringa have been interviewed and that investigators are "no longer really concerned with their activities from that night." "We're moving on, trying to find other people," Shaw said.

The station didn't have a security camera and there were no signs of a struggle or robbery, though police have released a description of a vehicle and a man seen in the area.

"There's no sign of a struggle, no sign of anything inside thestore being disturbed," Shaw said. "The cash drawer was sittingout and no money was missing. Her purse was in the store with400-some dollars in it. It's just odd how that occurred."

The man who called 911to report an empty gas station Friday night told the Detroit Free Press he "felt something was up."

Craig Harpster, 54, told the paper that when he arrived, the gas station clerk was gone, but the door was unlocked.

Harpster told the paper he saw the clerk's purse near the cashier's station, and that nothing appeared to be out of place inside the shop.

"I really felt something was up right away," he told the paper. "Not good."

Police are searching for a silver minivan, which may be a Chrysler Town and Country, that was seen at the station before Heeringa's disappearance. Police said a passerby saw the van parked near the gas station, and then it drove away, reports MLive.

Police are describing the driver of the van as a white male, between 30 and 40 years old, about six feet tall, with a medium to heavy build and broad shoulders. The driver had light brown or sandy blonde wavy hair and was last seen wearing a bright red or orange sweatshirt, reports MLive.

Heeringa is described as a white female, about five feet, one inch tall and 110 pounds, with shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes. She reportedly wears wire rimmed glasses and may be wearing a blue collared shirt labeled with "Sternberg Exxon."

Heeringa's mother, Shelly Heeringa, told local media that sherepeatedly told her daughter she worried about her working late by herself. "She said, `Mom, don't worry. I can handle anybody,"' she said.

Anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity near the Exxon Mobil gas station is asked to contact Silent Observer at 231-72-CRIME (231-722-7463) or call 911.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57581961-504083/jessica-heeringa-missing-update-missing-mom-may-have-been-trying-to-help-abductor-in-some-way-official-says/

"I'm carrying half of you inside me, literally and figuratively, alone like you promised I wouldn't be. Off loving someone, somewhere else. A man came through my work and I stared because he stood like you, walked like you."

Could it be possible she was having an affair? Something is OFF here. I am in no way suggesting she did anything wrong..just speculation. Pure speculation.

I agree Nite, this does not sound like it will end well. No one has heard from her since Friday night and her purse and cell were left at the gas station. I hope I'm wrong.

Jessica Heeringa case update: On April 30, 2013 the Norton Shores Police Department released a sketch of a presumed suspect in the Exxon worker's alleged kidnapping. Along with the description of a silver minivan, this latest update may lend to some positive leads in the search for her. That's not the only update in this case. The missing woman's boyfriend spoke exclusively for Examiner News, in particular to answer questions regarding her last transaction before the alleged abduction.

Dakotah Quail-Dyer confirmed that the last transaction Jessica made at the Exxon station was approximately 10:55 -- and she was "figured to be gone," by 11:15. When asked what the transaction was, he wasn't sure but did note that "if it was stuff like tape or rope," the cops would have definitely looked into it. He confirmed that police spent a considerable amount of time with the Exxon station's owner that night, so they had to have looked closely at the transactions that were made.

Dakotah has been very active in the search for his missing girlfriend, and has been fully cooperative with investigators. He told me he watches a lot of Law & Order, so he realized what he needed to do to be a positive part of this horrible situation. Kudos certainly goes out to this man as he struggles with the potential speculation that Jessica may not come home.

While Jessica's loved ones pull together in the search for her, the investigation into what happened is still going full blast. In fact, MLive reports that this disappearance is Muskegon County's largest missing person search "in recent memory." Jessica is certainly the focus of attention throughout the state of Mich., as well as the rest of the nation. It was reported yesterday that her story made it all the way to Australian news sources. Nonetheless, all the news coverage in the world can't amount to the physical search for clues, so the police in Norton Shores, Mich. definitely have their work cut out for them. When is the FBI going to be called in to assist in this alleged kidnapping?

As for the final transaction made by the missing woman, it may lend a clue toward the investigation. Did the person by cigarettes or beer? Did he buy gas? Did he use cash? They may seem like small details, but even the smallest pieces lend to the final outcome in a puzzle.
http://www.examiner.com/article/jessica-heeringa-exclusive-update-what-was-her-last-transaction

An employee at a store adjacent to the gas station where Jessica Heeringa worked the late shift said he noticed a man in a minivan talking to the missing Michigan mother, but didn't think much of the interaction until he learned she had been abducted.

"It just seemed to me that this was just another guy hitting on her, or whatever, because she was an attractive girl," Christian VanAntwerpen said of the Friday night incident.

"It was just an afterthought I almost didn't think about mentioning," he said. "[But] I thought it was my responsibility to say something about it."

VanAntwerpen said he watched a man in a silver minivan approach Heeringa when she was at a gas pump, preparing to close the Norton Shores, Mich., Exxon station where she had been working alone on the late shift.

"He was just like, 'Hey, what are you doing over here? Aren't you supposed to be inside?' Just kind of being real flirty, weird about it," VanAntwerpen said.

"It was just bizarre that he seemed to be actively looking for her, like he knew her and then had this attitude that he wanted to have a conversation with her and then conduct business, and that is what seemed really out of place to me," he said.

Police Tuesday released a composite sketch of the minivan driver, a person of interest described as a white male, 6-feet tall with a medium to heavy build. Police said he was last seen wearing a bright red or orange sweatshirt.
continue at: http://abcnews.go.com/US/jessica-heeringa-disappearance-person-interest-guy-hitting/story?id=19082176#.UYFkq7VllRI

Jessica Heeringa update, May 2, 2013:
There are new developments in the search for the missing Norton Shores, Mich. woman, but they are ominous in nature. Not only is there still no suspect yet, but now there are witness reports indicating that gunshots were heard around the time searches for her began heating up. ABC News reports that turkey hunting season began on that Saturday morning, though. So the gunshots might have had nothing to do with Jessica's disappearance. However, that would be a convenient way to avoid that point of investigation, wouldn't it? What if the man who took Jessica was a hunter himself?

It's important to remember that Jessica Heeringa was kidnapped. Someone abducted the petite Exxon worker during a struggle, pushing her into his silver colored minivan (as per witness reports). If a man is willing to forcefully abduct a woman from her place of
work, then the person more than likely had foul intentions and it wouldn't be surprising if he did kill her. With hunting season beginning in the area, the man could be a hunter -- as the deep wilderness would be an ideal place for him to dispose of his victim, in this scenario.

WWMT 3 News reports that helicopter and K9 units were out coming the area of PJ Hoffmaster State Park on Thursday -- which is the sixth day of her disappearance. Tomorrow will be one full week since she was taken from the Norton Shores Exxon station, and the fact that dogs are now being used in rural areas indicates the investigative stance that she could be dead or injured -- or possibly held captive. Investigators are focusing near the southern part of the park, near the Ottawa/Muskegon county line. They're reportedly working on leads, and a tip that the silver colored minivan was likely spotted in the area.

The news source cited above also reveals that the registered sex offender taken in last night has still not been officially cleared of suspicion. However, he has not been labeled a suspect yet. He was questioned for several hours yesterday and even given a polygraph test before he was released in the very late night hours. His name has not yet been released. Could this be the man responsible for the abduction (and possible murder) of Jessica Heeringa? Could this man be the reason why officials are searching the Hoffmaster park area? Most importantly: Is this man at all connected to the gunshots heard early Saturday morning?
http://www.examiner.com/article/did-someone-shoot-jessica-heeringa

NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WOOD) - The man who has been questioned for the last two days by Norton Shores police in connection with Jessica Heeringa's disappearance has been cleared, according to the police chief.

Chief Dan Shaw told 24 Hour News 8 that the man had been brought in on Wednesday for questioning but because investigators still had more questions, the man voluntarily come back in for questioning on Thursday.

Police learned about him through a tip, and he owns a silver minivan. Police believe that someone driving a silver or grey minivan is connected to Heeringa's disappearance.

Shaw said his team of investigators met Friday morning, and they decided to clear the man.

Heeringa disappeared last Friday night from the Exxon Mobile gas station on Sternberg Road in Norton Shores.

Police have yet to conduct a ground search outside of the half-mile radius around the gas station.

That search could happen this weekend, but police will first have to get search warrants or permission to search private property.
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/muskegon_county/man-questioned-in-heeringa-case-cleared

NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WOOD) - As Jessica Heeringa's grandmother stood on Friday near the family's makeshift command center -- not far from the gas station where Jessica was last seen -- a Michigan State Police helicopter flew over.

"My heart skips a beat," grandmother Diane Homrich said.

Just like Thursday, when it flew over, headed to PJ Hoffmaster State Park on what turned out to be a fruitless search.

Homrich knows this is necessary, but she also knows what it might mean.

"On one hand, you want them to find something and, on the other hand, you don't, so our emotions are on a roller coaster up and down," she said.

In Friday's case, the chopper was just in the area, not on a particular mission, police said. Jessica's family has kept a vigil in a parking lot near the Exxon station every day in the week since she disappeared.

It's a place where "hope" is the most important word. "It's hard not to get discouraged," Homrich said.

But when that happens, up walks a stranger.

They've brought flowers, lots of food, bottled water, a quilt and teddy bears for Jessica's 3-year-old son, Zevyn.

"A woman came up to me late last night and she said, 'I'm a grandma, too,' and she wanted to give me a hug,
and then she said, 'Here, I brought you a guardian angel.'"

It's a little pin she wears on a t-shirt that has her granddaughter's face on it. Just the other day, at a vigil, a young girl gave 4 four-leaf clovers to Jessica's fiance, who now keeps them in a small bottle on a necklace. Then, there are those, who just stop to bring comfort.

"Some people just stop and give us a hug and a kiss and ask how we're doing," Homrich said.

Some volunteers have told the family they're ready to help with ground searches -- wherever they might be. But to Jessica's family, that's almost admitting she's not coming back.

"We as a family are not ready to do that," Homrich said. "We don't want to give up on the hope that she will come back. My family and I believe she's still in the area, and don't ask us why, it's just a gut feeling. And, with the community support, how could we not stay out here?"
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/muskegon_county/after-week-jessicas-family-holds-hope

After week, Jessica's family holds hope

NORTON SHORES, Mich. – FOX 17 has learned more than $400 was found inside Jessica Heeringa’s purse left behind at the Norton Shores gas station where she went missing eight days ago.

Investigators initially said there was money left behind in Heeringa’s purse along with cash in the register but this is the first time we know how much.

“It just strengthens the case being an abduction and not a robbery,” said FOX 17′s Ann Marie LaFlamme who broke the new details about the case Saturday morning following a conversation with sources.

All along investigators said money was left behind in Heeringa’s purse and in the cash register.
Read more: http://fox17online.com/2013/05/04/400-dollars-found-in-heeringas-wallet-and-register-untouched/#ixzz2SRWVRgVz

NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WZZM) -- It has been one week since Norton Shores Police classified Jessica Heeringa's disappearance as an abduction.

Sunday, Police Chief Daniel Shaw says they still have no clues other than the two surveillance tapes of the silver minivan. More than 1,000 tips have come to the public, but authorities believe cell phone data could be just as important.

If Heeringa had her phone on her, Chief Shaw says they would have been able to track her immediately. But instead, they're trying to track down the suspect's phone, if he has one.

If so, they hope he made a call or sent a text at some point Friday, because all of the cell phone towers in the area could provide those clues to police.

It didn't take Norton Shores Police long to locate Heeringa's cell phone, left inside the Exxon Mobile Gas Station.

Now, locating her -- or her alleged abductor -- will take the work of multiple other cell phones, all powered by one small machine. Norton Shores Police has a cell phone data tracking unit, which they received last year through a grant from Homeland Security.

"It basically takes a mirror image of the phone itself," said Chief Shaw. "It would download all the data through this device onto the computer."

The process starts with cell phone towers themselves. Shaw's team asked phone carrier immediately for access to all area data following Heeringa's disappearance. Shaw says they've retrieved about a dozen phones -- all from people who voluntarily brought them in -- and now police have hundreds of contacts to sift through.

"We're looking to cross reference it with other elements we're looking for in this case," he said.

That includes a silver minivan. And by checking cell phones for contacts, they can see who the vehicle belongs to.

"We run the vehicle plate number and can get access to the driver's license photo if we need to," said Shaw.

The cross referencing is done through the Michigan Secretary of State, and a Secret Service Agent is in charge of analyzing that data. Chief Shaw says it's incredibly time consuming.

"From what I've heard, I think we have 35,000 silver minivans in the region," he said.

But he says everyday they get closer to finding their match.

"I'm pretty confident we have the data we need to find the person in the gray van. It's just finding that needle in the haystack."

Chief Shaw says the Secret Service agent came from the Detroit office, but is originally from the Muskegon County area and wanted to help with the case.
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/255484/48/Secret-Service-analyzing-cell-phones-to-find-Jessica-Heeringa

Jessica Heeringa's Blood Found at Scene Where Missing Mom Vanished

Jessica Heeringa has not been seen since she worked the late shift at a Norton Shores, Mich., gas station on Friday, April 26, 2013. (ABC News)
By KEVIN DOLAK (@kdolak) and ALYSSA NEWCOMB (@alyssanewcomb)
May 8, 2013
Police investigating the disappearance of Jessica Heeringa, the Michigan woman abducted in late April during her shift at a gas station, said that the suspicious substance found at the scene where she vanished was her blood.

"The substance has been confirmed as blood," police said in a statement released today. "Based on a subsequent DNA analysis, the blood has been confirmed to be from Jessica Lynn Heeringa."

Police said that there was only a small amount of blood located at the Norton Shores, Mich., Exxon gas station where Heeringa was working at a late shift. The 25-year-old mother of one was within moments of closing the station when she vanished.

Heeringa's family has been notified that her blood was found at the scene, police said.

Jessica Heeringa has not been seen since she worked the late shift at a Norton Shores, Mich., gas station on Friday, April 26, 2013. Police Eye Silver Minivan in Search for Missing Mother

On May 2, authorities released a surveillance video showing a van believed connected to Heeringa's disappearance. Prior to the blood being identified as hers, there appeared to be no signs of struggle at the service station, and Heeringa's purse and keys were found inside the store. No money had been removed from the register, leading police to believe that the woman knew her abductor.

An employee at a store adjacent to the gas station where Heeringa worked said he noticed a man in a minivan talking to her, but didn't think much of the interaction until he learned she had been abducted.

"It just seemed to me that this was just another guy hitting on her, or whatever, because she was an attractive girl," Christian VanAntwerpen said of the April 26 incident. "It was just an afterthought I almost didn't think about mentioning. [But] I thought it was my responsibility to say something about it."

VanAntwerpen said he watched a man in a silver minivan approach Heeringa when she was at a gas pump preparing to close the station, where she had been working alone on the late shift.

"He was just like, 'Hey, what are you doing over here? Aren't you supposed to be inside?' Just kind of being real flirty, weird about it," he said. "It was just bizarre that he seemed to be actively looking for her, like he knew her and then had this attitude that he wanted to have a conversation with her and then conduct business, and that is what seemed really out of place to me."

Police have released a composite sketch of the minivan driver, a person of interest described as a white male, six feet tall with a medium to heavy build.

Investigators have interviewed and cleared several people of interest, police said, including Heeringa's fiance, with whom she has a 3-year-old son.

ABC News' Alex Perez and Matthew Jaffe contributed to this report.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/jessica-heeringas-blood-found-scene-missing-mom-vanished/story?id=19135438

Oh this is bad news. Thank you for posting Ruth!

State police profilers plan to assist in the search for a 25-year-old woman who disappeared from her job at a west Michigan gas station last month.

Norton Shores police Chief Dan Shaw tells the Muskegon Chronicle today that Jessica Heeringa likely knew her abductor and they're focused on identifying a suspect. Shaw says state police behavior analysts are joining the investigative team this week.

The Norton Shores police department announced last week that blood found outside the gas station belonged to Heeringa.

Heeringa disappeared April 26 before she was set to close the station in Norton Shores, near Muskegon. Police said there was no indication of a robbery.

Police have released a description of a silver minivan and a man seen in the area.
http://www.freep.com/article/20130513/NEWS06/305130068/Jessica-Heeringa-Michigan-missing-gas-clerk-case

iane Homrich, Jessica Heeringa's grandmother, holds a newly designed flyer about her missing granddaughter, Wednesday, May 8, 2013 in Norton Shores. Blood found outside a western Michigan gas station belonged to Heeringa who disappeared from her job as a night clerk there.

KENT CITY, Mich.- We’ve seen Jessica Heeringa’s family out at their command center for the past two weeks but no one’s heard from her father, until now.

The past two weeks have been excruciating for Jessica’s Dad and Stepmom, Pete and Christina Jenkins. Pete says, “My daughters gone and nobody knows where she is.” He hasn’t seen Jessica in seven months saying distance and losing touch are to blame. “I just want her back, that’s all.” Pete says.

Police say Jessica was abducted while working at the Exxon Gas Station in Norton Shores. Pete and Christina didn’t know she was working alone. Pete says, “There should have been somebody there with her. She worked at the Sparta Gas Station, but she was never alone.”

Jessica lived with Pete and Christina from ages 12-17, then moved back in when she found out she was pregnant with Zeven. The Jenkin’s say that was a special time for them, “Going to doctors appointments with her, ya know and being there when the baby was born, it was great,” Pete says.

Pete says Jessica gets her love for music, especially The Beatles, from him. He says he spends time in his music room to feel closer to her, “I feel helpless, my hands are tied.”

But, Pete says he has hope the right tip will come in soon, “I want the tips to be checked out and keep coming…I want her face to be on the news.”

The Jenkin’s met with the investigation team that’s working around the clock to bring her home. They’re in constant communication with them, hanging on every new development. Pete says,”I can’t thank them enough.”

They’re hoping and praying that Jessica will soon be home, Christina says, “Jessie’s a little fighter, I mean, she’s a fighter, if she can get out of what she’s in, she will definitely get out of it, and that’s what we’re holding on to now.”
Read more: http://fox17online.com/2013/05/13/exclusive-fox-17-sits-down-with-jessica-heeringas-dad/#ixzz2TF2eXYqO
Video at link

Updated: Thursday, May 23 2013, 07:30 PM EDT NORTON SHORES, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - It's been nearly one month since the search for Jessica Heeringa began. The 25-year-old missing mother is believed to have been abducted from her place of work--the Exxon Mobil gas station in Norton Shores, and police are still looking for clues into her disappearance. The Chief says the investigation hasn't really changed since day one, as they've uncovered pieces of evidence along the way, but nothing that's really brought them any closer to answers. Posters still hang in stores and vehicles around the area, but tips just aren't coming in like they used to. Chief Daniel Shaw says tips are down to around 20 to 30 per day, compared to a high of around 200 a day, and that's frustrating. "This thing just keeps dragging out longer and longer because of that lack of information we have," Chief Shaw said. Still, the only workable clues to come out of the investigation since Heeringa went missing are the sketch of the suspect, and the silver van. Right now, the task force assigned to the case is continuing its investigation, but Shaw says eventually other work will need to be done. "When credible or valuable tips stop coming in, then we'll have to re-evaluate the number of people we have on the task force," Chief Shaw said. But he hopes evidence will come, and says that even though the investigation is slow-going, he plans to bring Jessica home. "I'm confident we will; it's just, I don't know when, and that's the hard part," said Chief Shaw. The reason he believes there is someone out there who knows what happened is because there is talk of the case on social media and people who aren't using their real names have information that police haven't released.

Read More at: http://wwmt.com/news/features/featured/stories/one-month-since-heeringa-disappearance-930.shtml
Video at link

WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) - She said her fears about working alone late at night had grown worse since the Jessica Heeringa abduction almost a month ago from a Norton Shores gas station.

But there she was early Wednesday, working alone at an Admiral station in Wyoming, facing a gun and fearing for her life.

"I'm like, 'What if I couldn't have got away?'" Kenise Clay told 24 hour News 8 on Thursday. "What if I couldn't have gotten out that door? What if he wanted something more than just coming in that store to rob them?"

Clay, 32, said she has worked at the Admiral gas station station on South Division Avenue at 32nd Street for nearly two years, often called in to fill in for the third shift.

It's the only job she can find, she said.

"Right now, I've got to do what I've got to do to take care of myself," she said. "I've got bills."

Clay said she had complained, in writing, to her bosses about working the overnight shift alone, but they made her work it anyway.

"Every time a third-shifter quit, I was always on it to write a note to say, 'Do not put me on thirds. Don't put me there. I don't want to work thirds.'"

"It's being alone, being there alone, she continued. "You're not safe."

Another clerk, Mara Dickerson, who along with Clay makes $7.40 an hour, told 24 Hour News 8 she has also complained about working overnight at the station.

"Whenever I started hearing about all this happening, especially the Muskegon (Heeringa) story, because she has a son the same age as mine, I told my manager I didn't want to work by myself anymore," Dickerson said.

Sometimes, a second worker was there overnight to track merchandise, they say, but usually only for half the shift.

"What about the other four hours I'm there," Dickerson said. "It can happen anytime of the night."

"Why is my life not as important as everybody else's? It's just not fair, and I have a 3-year-old, and it's just not worth it," Dickerson said.

Clay was filling in for Dickerson the other night when the robbery happened, about 1:45 in the morning on Tuesday.

"He pointed the gun directly at me," Clay said. "I looked right at the barrel of that gun, directly at the barrel."

His face was covered with a white bandana.

"I had some energy drinks in my arms and I just threw them in the air, and I just took off running," Clay said.

First, she tried to kick open the back emergency door, but it wouldn't budge, so she ran into another room.

"Once I realized I was secluding myself in an area to where I couldn't get out, my body said move again," Clay said.

So she did, this time kicking open the emergency door, and running to a neighbor's house.

"I thanked them so much because if they wouldn't have opened that door, I don't know where I would have went, I don't know what I would have did," Clay said.

She said police later checked the station's surveillance cameras, but told her they hadn't recorded.

"If he would have shot and killed me dead, my mother right now would be mourning me and wouldn't know what happened to me because of some cameras that didn't work, me not being safe," Clay said.

For the second straight day, the Admiral corporate officials in Coopersville did not return messages from 24 Hour News 8. However, a manager at the Admiral station on Division told 24 Hour News 8 she plans to double up staffing on the overnight shift.

The clerks said they want a second worker on for their entire shifts.

"I told her yesterday that I will quit," Dickerson said. "I will not work there anymore if I don't have somebody there with me."

On Thursday, Clay returned to work for the first time since the robbery attempt, but to work the second shift.

"I don't know how I'm going to be once I get behind that counter and I go to helping people and people are coming in and out that door and I'm there alone, because you never know," Clay said. "What if he comes back? He didn't get what he wanted, and he didn't get caught."
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/kent_county/admiral-clerk-youre-not-safe

Admiral clerk: 'You're not safe'

May 20, 2013
NORTON SHORES, Mich. (AP) - Police looking for a 25-year-old woman who disappeared from her job at a West Michigan gas station last month say they're investigating high-priority tips received over the weekend.

more at: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/state/Police-get-high-priority-tips-in-search-for-missing-gas-station-attendant-mom-Jessica-Heeringa#ixzz2UBuqB8Aw

This is SO frustrating!

Roosevelt Park Police did not release the suspect's name, but they said she's a local woman in her 50s.

Officers are trying to determine if this latest case is connected to another fundraising scheme allegedly involving Joann Vaughn, 56. Investigators said Vaughn recently stood outside the Wal-Mart store in Roosevelt Park and a nearby strip mall, asking for donations on behalf of Heeringa's 4-year-old son. Vaughn is facing one count of larceny by false pretenses.

Police said both suspects claim they do not know each other.

Heeringa remains missing after disappearing from her job at a Norton Shores gas station on April 26. Police believe she was abducted.
http://www.grandhaventribune.com/article/policefire/394466

David Lohr
david.lohr@huffingtonpost.com

Jessica Heeringa, Michigan Mom, Missing After 1 Month With Few Clues
Posted: 05/30/2013 10:53 am EDT

One month ago, Jessica Heeringa, a 25-year-old mother, was abducted while working the night shift at a Michigan gas station.

Since that day, April 26, family, friends, strangers and investigators with the Norton Shores Police Department have worked tirelessly to bring Herringa home, without success.

Despite the passage of time, no one is ready to give up hope that Heeringa will be found safe.

"We believe she is being held against her will. We think it is probably someone she is acquainted with -- maybe a customer of the gas station or someone she knew through a friend of a friend -- who built up an obsession with her in their mind," Carrie Mitchell told The Huffington Post.

Mitchell, a Heeringa family friend, is the administrator of the "Find Jessica Heeringa" Facebook page. She said she is in daily contact with the missing mom's family.

"If the [person responsible] feels he's getting away with it, it could very well happen again, and it may happen in our area," Mitchell said.

Heeringa was last seen at the Exxon Mobil gas station in Norton Shores. Her last recorded sale was at 11 p.m. A customer called police approximately 15 minutes later to say there was no one working at the still-open gas station.

Police ruled Heeringa's disappearance an abduction and announced they were searching for a silver or gray minivan, possibly a 2005 Town & Country model, that was seen leaving the scene at about 11 p.m. Investigators said a witness reported seeing the van with an unknown driver, whom authorities have described as 30- to 40-year-old man.

The van and a sketch of the driver are among the few clues police have, but so far neither has yielded anything substantial. Authorities cautioned this week that they are still not positive the van or the sketch are even connected to the case.

"I need to be clear: We don't know if that van was involved. We really don't know that," Norton Shores Police Chief Dan Shaw told Mlive.com on Tuesday.

Shaw told Mlive.com that there are no new developments in the case. However, Mitchell said authorities told the family they have made headway in narrowing down the search for the minivan in question.

"I know they've narrowed it down to a few hundred, and they have interviewed 50 to 60 minivan owners," Mitchell told HuffPost. "They are also looking into stolen vans and vans that have been sold."

Mitchell said Heeringa's fiance, Dakota Quail-Dyer, recently decided it was time to tell the couple's 3-year-old son that his mom is missing.

"They worked with a counselor to tell him in the appropriate way and he just keeps saying, 'We'll find her.' He does not comprehend what's going on, but he does know mommy is missing," Mitchell said.

Mitchell and other volunteers are working with Buffalo Wild Wings to raise funds for Heeringa and her family. Information about the fundraiser will be posted to the "Find Jessica Heeringa" Facebook page as soon as the details are finalized.

"We just pray every day that she's fighting and staying strong. We do firmly believe she will be found and brought home," Mitchell said.

Jessica Heeringa is described as white, 5 feet 1 inch tall and 110 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Silent Observer at 231-722-7463 or the Norton Shores Police Department at 231-733-2691.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/30/jessica-heeringa-abduction-update_n_3354505.html?utm_source=Alert-blogger&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Email%2BNotifications