Jessica Heeringa Missing from North Shores Since 2013

[Amy]

Jessica Heeringa, a 25-year-old woman disappeared while working alone at night at the Exxon gas station on East Sternberg Road in Norton Shores. At the station, she left behind her purse, car, money, cigarettes — and a few drops of blood outside.

Police believe she was abducted, most likely by somebody she was familiar with.

At home, she left behind her son, Zevyn, who has since turned four and lives with his father.

More than two years after Jessica Heeringa disappeared from a Norton Shores gas station, one name keeps popping up: Brad Mason.

Kalamazoo police were arresting the 42-year-old Kalamazoo man for a brutal abduction and rape in that city when they shot him to death last year -- an apparent "suicide by cop."

He remains the prime suspect of her disappearance.

However, Lieutenant Michael Kasher believes Heeringa is alive and is being held against her will.

He said, “Time has gone on where nobody’s found a body, or remains, or clothing, or anything else that have evidence to suggest that Jessica is deceased. I have to go on the assumption and belief that she is still alive somewhere.”


The family set up a tip line of their own, hoping people may feel more open to share information. You can remain anonymous. That number is 231-222-0278. You can also call Silent Observer and remain anonymous. That number is 231-72-CRIME. There is a $26,000 reward for information that leads to Jessica Heeringa.


Here’s the timeline, released by the Norton Shores Police Department:

April 26, 2013:

• 2:44 p.m.: Heeringa purchased groceries at Aldi, 2715 Henry St.
  
  
• 4:35 p.m.: Heeringa begins her shift at the Exxon store. She was aware the store did not have video cameras, as she had advised customers of this and the fact she was working alone. She was not worried about the lack of cameras. It was not uncommon for Heeringa to prop open the rear door and turn off the store’s rear security light so she could smoke cigarettes behind the store or allow friends to enter via the rear door, according to police.
  
  
• 7:30 – 8:15 p.m.: A man who told police he was Heeringa's boyfriend at the time (*Not to be confused with her fiance, Dakotah Quail-Dyer) arrived at the Exxon station in a work vehicle, a silver full-size van. The two reportedly had a discussion regarding their alleged relationship.
  
  
• A customer advised that Heeringa appeared to be upset after the conversation with the male subject.
  
  
• 7:40 – 8:50 p.m.: A female friend entered the store through the front door to visit Heeringa. Nothing suspicious was noticed at that time.
  
  
• Both the female friend and a male customer observed a bluish silver van pull up to Heeringa while she was changing the receipt paper in one of the pumps. It appeared that the male driver and Heeringa were having a friendly conversation.
  
  
• 10:55 p.m.: A female customer entered the store and purchased a lighter. She advised that Heeringa was alone in the store and did not appear to be nervous or distressed. The customer did not see anyone in the store or in the parking lot.
  
  
• 11 p.m.: An Exxon manager and her husband were riding their motorcycles eastbound on Sternberg Road.
  
  
• She saw a silver minivan slowly enter the north drive of the Exxon station from the service drive of the Pointes Mall.
  
  
• The van drove behind the Exxon station, did a u-turn and extinguished its headlights as it pulled behind the store facing west.
  
  
• The manager suspected Heeringa may be in the process of stealing from Exxon, so she turned around on Harvey Street to return to the store.
  
  
• The manager and her husband drove to the Pointes Mall, west of the Exxon station, and parked in the lot with a view of the north and west sides of the Exxon station. The minivan was parked on the north side of the Exxon station.
  
  
• There were no other vehicles in the lot except for Heeringa's.
  
  
• The manager saw a figure standing at the rear of the van and noticed the van’s rear hatch was open. The figure shut the rear hatch and quickly opened it again. It appeared as though the figure was adjusting something in the rear of the van, and then closed the hatch again. She noted that the person's head was just above the roof of the van.
  
  
• The person then walked to the driver’s door, got into the van and began driving westbound on the service drive.
  
  
• The manager said the store’s rear security light was not on and the store’s rear door did not open at any time. She never saw a struggle or heard anyone yell for help. She did not see Heeringa outside of the store.
  
  
• As the van drove closer to their location in the parking lot, the manager and her husband started their motorcycles and pulled up to the service drive. As the van passed, she looked at the driver, a male subject wearing a red or orange sweatshirt. Her husband stated that he did not see the subject well, but did see that he had “crazy” or wavy hair. Neither of them saw Heeringa or anyone else in the van.
  
  
• The manager and her husband pulled onto the service drive and followed the van until it stopped at Grand Haven Road. The manager’s husband stated that he was positive the van was a Chrysler Town and Country van, silver in color, as it was the same type a relative owned (Note: This vehicle was located and was in Traverse City at the time of the abduction). He clearly remembered the Town and Country logo on the rear hatch door. Neither obtained the license plate number, as they had no reason to believe a crime had occurred.
  
  
• The van turned northbound on Grand Haven Road, while the manager and her husband turned southbound on Grand Haven Road and went home.
  
  
• 11:02 p.m: Surveillance video from inside of a closed store in the Pointes Mall captured a silver minivan turning northbound onto Grand Haven Road.
  
  
• 11:03 p.m: Surveillance video from the Homestead Tavern captured a silver minivan driving northbound on Grand Haven Road.
  
  
• 11:05 p.m: Surveillance video from the Coin Zone captured a silver minivan driving northbound on Grand Haven Road.
  
  
• 11:10 p.m: A male customer arrived at the gas station, pulled up to the pump and attempted to purchase gasoline. He was unable to do so as the pump would not activate. When the pump did not activate, he entered the store believing that the clerk may have been in the back room and not aware of his presence at the pump. He was unable to locate Heeringa. Upon exiting the store, he spoke with a female customer and called 911.
  
  
• 11:15 p.m.: Patrol units are dispatched to Exxon, 1196 E Sternberg Road, Norton Shores, regarding a suspicious situation.
  
  
• 11:25 p.m.: The first officer arrives and begins investigation. Officers searched the store but did not locate Heeringa. Officers located Heeringa's purse and jacket in the back room. The purse contained $420 in cash. Officers noted that nothing inside the store indicated a struggle. There was nothing that appeared to be disturbed. Officers exited the rear door and noted that the door did not have a handle on the outside.
  
  
• Officers located items of possible evidence outside the rear door, including what appeared to be a 2-inch by 3-inch blood stain on the concrete, later determined to be Heeringa's. Officers photographed the interior and exterior of the store and evidence items prior to collection. Officers collected a sample of the possible blood stain and packaged the other evidence items.
  
  
• 11.38 p.m.: Exxon owner was contacted regarding the open store. He in turn contacted the day-shift manager to respond as she lives closer to the store.
  
  
• 11:50 p.m.: The day-shift manager arrives at the Exxon station and provides officers with her observations of the silver minivan and its driver.
  
  
• The manager advised that the cash drawer was “counted down” for the next shift, indicating Heeringa was preparing to close the store. While talking to officers, the manager observed the man claiming to be Heeringa's boyfriend drive past the store in a work vehicle. He was contacted to come to the Exxon station and was questioned by officers.
  
  
• 12:38 a.m.: A K-9 team requested to search area. A search of the area north and east of the store was conducted with no results.

Here are a couple evidence photos released by police. You can see the blood stain the found at the gas station, as well as the van police were looking for.

[LiquidSky]

So sad that she has a little boy.

And I think it's highly likely that many of these missing people are alive. The three girls in Cleveland held for over a decade. Jaycee Dugard held almost 20 years....

[Amy]

Originally Posted by LiquidSky

So sad that she has a little boy.

And I think it's highly likely that many of these missing people are alive. The three girls in Cleveland held for over a decade. Jaycee Dugard held almost 20 years....

They really seem to believe she is. It happens. If the raided every house in the us.....how many people would they find locked up? Scary to think you may drive by a house like that every day and not know.

[LiquidSky]

Originally Posted by Amy

They really seem to believe she is. It happens. If the raided every house in the us.....how many people would they find locked up? Scary to think you may drive by a house like that every day and not know.

Right?! And not even in rural areas--urban and suburban areas hold just as many secrets.

[Amy]

Originally Posted by LiquidSky

Right?! And not even in rural areas--urban and suburban areas hold just as many secrets.

Urban is probably worse. Nobody really knows the neighbors.

[chris]

This upsets me, there is no reason, other than to be cheap, that you would have only one person working at night any any gas station. There are laws where I live that say if you are open past 9PM you must have two people minimum working in the store. Simply having one more person around could have made a difference in this case.

[Bastet]

I've been closely following this case even though I'm from nowhere near the US. This is definitely one of the most compelling yet also one of the creepiest missing person cases I've known. I, too, am creeped out by the fact she had to work alone at the gas station at night. That definitely put her in a vulnerable position. Nonetheless, I hope she would eventually be found alive, though the odds seem to be slim at this point.

[kellyhound]

Originally Posted by chris

This upsets me, there is no reason, other than to be cheap, that you would have only one person working at night any any gas station. There are laws where I live that say if you are open past 9PM you must have two people minimum working in the store. Simply having one more person around could have made a difference in this case.

The gas station has been extremely uncooperative since day one, ostensibly in fear of bad publicity due to his lack of security cameras.

bet that dead guy brad mason did it but wiped out any tracks pretty thoroughly like he did in his other rape cases, esp. turning his cell phone off at 9 PM.
So the question remains where he took her and possibly locked her up or killed her.

[mkianni]

Suspect in Heeringa disappearance and possible serial killer Jeffrey Willis.

http://woodtv.com/2016/06/02/source-...nga-abduction/

This guy Jeffrey Willis has been a busy beaver. He looks like the person in the police composite to me. He frequented the Exxon that Heeringa went missing from and he owns a silver minivan. His coworkers have told police that he knew Jessica, and that he was not at work for a few days following her disappearance.

During a search of Willis' home the police found evidence that he was actively stalking several other women. At least one of those women have been informed of the police findings and claim to not know Jeffery Willis.

So far he has been charged with the 2014 murder of Rebekah Bletsch, and the kidnapping of a 16 year old girl earlier this year.

Willis is already charged with murder in the June 2014 shooting death of Rebekah Bletsch and kidnapping and assault after allegedly abducting a teen in April of this year. That teen managed to escape by jumping from the kidnapper’s moving vehicle. He also faces charges connected to the creation and possession of child pornography.

When police searched Willis’s silver minivan after his arrest, they found a hidden compartment containing syringes filled with what seemed to be a sedative; rope, handcuffs and chains; images of bound and gagged women; and a gun, according to court documents. Ballistics later linked that gun to Bletsch’s homicide.

Picture of the injuries of the 16 year old that escaped.


There may also be a connection to Jeffrey Willis and another missing teen from 1996, Angela Thornburg.
http://woodtv.com/2016/05/26/family-...investigation/



A Google street view image of a silver minivan parked outside Jeffrey Willis' Muskegon Township home in October 2013.

[Amy]

Holy crap. Too many things seem to match up for it not to be him!