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CONSTANTINE, Mich. (AP) - Authorities say the body of an 11-year-old girl has been found in a cemetery in St. Joseph County.

Police tell WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids that Jodi Christine Parrack was reported missing Thursday night by her mother.

Authorities say she left the home of a friend about 4:45 p.m. on a silver bicycle.

Police searching for the girl found her body in Constantine Township Cemetery just after 10:30 p.m.

Police say they're treating the girl's death as suspicious. An autopsy was planned in Grand Rapids.

http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=9a16d3e3-cea8-434e-9ace-880f108b28f4

UPDATE: Preliminary cause of death of Constantine girl is homicide

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=83444

This is very strange.....

It is...very weird.
CONSTANTINE – On Thursday, in the Village of Constantine in St. Joseph County, 11-year-old Jodi Christine Parrack was visiting a friend, Mariah Dupree. Jodi, a fifth-grader at Riverside Elementary School, was wearing a black sweater, black T-shirt, jeans and black tennis shoes. The fifth-grade girls were hanging out at Mariah's home less than a mile from the Constantine Township Cemetery. When Mariah had to go to Girl Scouts, they split up.

"I asked her if she wanted to go with me," said Mariah. "And she said she didn't really want to join."

At around 4:45 p.m. Jodi took off on her bike down the street but never made it home. When she didn't come home on time, Jodi's mother, Valerie, went to the Duprees home. They all jumped into cars and began looking for her. At around 10:30 pm, Valerie checked the cemetery and found her fully-clothed daughter, lying dead next to her bicycle. The Kent County Medical Examiner is calling it a homicide but says the case is "Frustrating." An autopsy leads investigators to believe she was murdered. There was no physical evidence on her, no signs of strangulation, no bruising and no gun shot wound. Her friends are nearly certain Jodi wouldn't go to the cemetery on her own. Friend Ray McCann said, “she doesn't like cemetery, even during the daytime she doesn't like that."

At a press conference on Saturday, assistant prosecuting attorney Holly Curtis said they are interested in a dark-colored pickup similar to a Ranger. "No matter how insignificant a person may think their information is, we want to hear from them," Curtis said. Police also want information about a light-colored van. Someone driving a similar vehicle had been involved in recent reports of accosting children in the Cassopolis, Mattawan and Three Rivers areas.

Police are asking for your help. If you have any information call police at 269-435-4355 or 269-467-4195.

http://www.dreamindemon.com/2007/11/12/the-mysterious-death-of-jodi-parrack/

http://blog.mlive.com/kzgazette/2007/11/constantine_mourns_11yearold_g.html
Constantine mourns 11-year-old girl
Posted by Kalamazoo Gazette November 13, 2007 12:16PM


CONSTANTINE -- Mourners on Tuesday morning packed a Constantine church for the funeral of Jodi Christine Parrack, the 11-year-old whose body was found in a cemetery after she failed to return home Thursday.

"The family is doing well, obviously reeling in pain at times," Pastor Russ Stauffer, flanked by Jodi's mother and other family members, told reporters shortly before the 11 a.m. service at Trinity Missionary Church in Constantine.

"With God, all things are possible, and they are just hanging onto their faith. And we are proud of them," Stauffer said of the family.

Jodi's body was discovered by her mother less than a mile from their home, several hours after the Riverside Elementary School fifth-grader was due to return home from visiting friends, police said. Preliminary autopsy results indicate she was a homicide victim.

Stauffer told reporters that Jodi's mother, Valerie Carver, told him, "If good is going to come of this situation, we have to be willing to do good." Carver and other family members dabbed tears as the pastor spoke, but did not address the media.

Stauffer said that during the service, a prayer would be said for the perpetrator of the suspected homicide.

Police had not identified any suspects as of Monday.

I wonder what in the world happened?  Why was that child in a cemetery?

I suppose it is possible the child took a shortcut through the cemetary to get home. Perhaps a shortcut often taken and that is how her mother knew to look there.........
"At around 10:30 pm, Valerie checked the cemetery and found her fully-clothed daughter, lying dead next to her bicycle."

BUTttttttt...if her mother knew this then she probably would have checked there sooner. The child left the friends house at 4:30 pm. This case smells really bad....

I agree. I think it's strange that her mother found her.....fully clothed, no signs of trauma? That doesn't sound like a pedophile to me.

I agree,  it doesn't add up.  SOmething is not quite right here.....

I keep checking back here for updates. Does anyone know how this story developed or if there has been a cause of death determined? I agree, something's just not right here.  :sad:

BTW: MsVada?, while I'm where you might be checking back, here's your Christmas avi, if you want it   :wink::

(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c100/crazybabyborgs/cMV1.gif)
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c100/crazybabyborgs/cMV1.gif

http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:707785418&start=4

Police still hope to solve slaying
Someone must
have helpful
information
in Constantine
girl's killing,
chief believes
 

BY REX HALL JR.

rhall@kalamazoogazette.com

388-7784

CONSTANTINE -- Almost three weeks after a little girl's body was found lying in a cemetery, Constantine's police chief says "nobody has been eliminated yet as a suspect" in the killing of 11-year-old Jodi Parrack, and that he remains confident police will make an arrest.

"We've gotten some tips lately that have been pretty intriguing ... and make me more optimistic," Chief Mark Honeysett said Tuesday. "I think (the incident) involves someone locally here, so for that reason I'm confident we'll find out who and maybe why. I don't believe it was just someone passing through who picked her out."

A team of 40 to 50 investigators from the St. Joseph County Major Crimes Task Force and FBI had amassed nearly 450 tips in the case as of Tuesday morning, but have yet to find anyone who may have seen Jodi after she left a friend's house in the 100 block of East Third Street at about 4:45 p.m. on Nov. 8, Honeysett said.

"We're hoping that if anyone saw her after 4:45, they may have seen her with the person who killed her or who was with her when she died," he said. "I still firmly believe that someone in town did see her or has information that they don't think is important and haven't passed it along to us ... It's easier for me to believe that someone knows what happened apart from Jodi and the person who killed her."

Jodi, a fifth-grader at Riverside Elementary, was last seen riding her bike near the intersection of East Third and South Washington streets in downtown Constantine. Her mother, Valerie Carver, reported her missing at about 7 that night after Jodi failed to return home on time by 5:30 p.m., investigators have said.

Carver was with friends searching for her daughter at about 10:30 p.m. when they found Jodi dead in the Constantine Township Cemetery. Her bike was found nearby.

Jodi's death has been ruled a homicide, but the cause was still undetermined and a final autopsy report hadn't been received by police as of Tuesday, Honeysett said.

Honeysett declined to say if police have served any search warrants in the case or asked anyone to take a polygraph exam as part of the investigation.

He said tips received by police so far have ranged from callers with "no information" to those who provide "names of specific people we need to talk to." Police were continuing to prioritize the tips and following up on them, as well as doing interviews Tuesday, Honeysett said.

The St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office issued a news release this morning indicating that the investigation into Jodi's killing is at a point where further media attention and publicity are undesired.

"We have reached the stage in the investigation where media publicity with regard to the specifics of the investigation is no longer desirable," Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Holly Curtis wrote. 
 
November 28, 2007

UPDATE: Preliminary cause of death of Constantine girl is homicide

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=83444

Updated: 11/10/2007 7:09:59 AM

Eleven-year-old Jodi Christine Parrack was found in the Constantine Township Cemetery Thursday night. She disappeared at about 4:45 p.m. from central Constantine while riding a silver bicycle.

Preliminary autopsy reports indicate that the cause of death is a homicide, but no more specific details are being released. The St. Joseph County Crime Task force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are assisting the Constantine Police Department in their investigation.

Police are asking anyone who may have seen Jodi Thursday evening to call the Constantine Police Department at (269) 435-4355 or the St. Joseph County Central Dispatch at (269) 467-4195. They are also asking for tips from anyone who may have seen strange activity in the cemetery. They are also interested in a light colored, older van from the area.


reader comments to this story here>
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/wzzm/TT5DTII8IEF41HP37

Where Jodi was found.......

map of the area....

Story Updated: Jan 11, 2008 at 11:31 PM EST

CONSTANTINE — The much-awaited autopsy in the mysterious death of an 11-year-old Constantine girl has become like everything else in the unsolved homicide: a secret.

On Friday the St. Joseph County (Mich.) Medical Examiner’s office said it would not comment on an autopsy report released earlier in the week about Jodi Christine Parrack’s death.

The Grand Rapids office of forensic pathologist Dr. Stephen Cohle sent the report to the county Monday.

But Cohle’s office said comments on the report should come from St. Joseph County Medical Examiner John Robertson, who declined comment.

Investigators have not released any new information in their investigation into the Nov. 8 death of Parrack, whose body and bicycle were found in Constantine Township Cemetery by her mother, Valerie Carver.

Carver called police about 7 p.m. that evening when Jodi, a fifth-grader at Riverside Elementary, failed to return home from a friend’s house about 5:30 p.m. as scheduled.

Constantine Police Chief Mark Honeysett said Jodi was last seen about 4:45 p.m. leaving the friend’s home on East Third Street.

Jodi’s friends told police conflicting statements as to where Jodi planned to go after visiting her friends.

Some said she was going for a bike ride. Another said she was going home for supper. Another said she was riding her bike to a nearby store to buy a snack.

Honeysett said none of the leads panned out. Seemingly no one saw her after she left the friend’s home.

After calling police, Carver’s mother and friends began looking for Jodi near the Parracks’ home. They found her body about 10:30 p.m. in a nearby cemetery.

It’s unclear if Jodi was killed in the cemetery. Honeysett has said there were no signs of trauma on her body, but police ruled the death a homicide.

Meanwhile, the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s office released a statement Friday seeking information from the public but disclosing little else about Jodi’s death.

Throughout their two-month investigation, Constantine police and the St. Joseph County Major Crime Task Force have received 561 tips, the prosecutor’s office said.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Holly Curtis praised detectives, but said, “In order for criminal charges to be filed, there must be probable cause that a crime was committed and probable cause that a particular person committed the crime.”

She added that there is “no doubt” that Jodi’s death was a homicide but “at this time we cannot establish that a particular individual committed this crime.”

On Friday, Honeysett said he was hopeful that Jodi’s killer will be in custody soon.

But he couldn’t say when.

“I’d love to be able to tell you an arrest is imminent. But I can’t,” he said.

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/13724552.html


reader comments at the link

not exactly a secluded area

Kalamazoo Gazette (Michigan)
 
January 26, 2008 Saturday 
 
Search continues for girl's killer
 
CONSTANTINE -- More than 11 weeks after a young girl was found dead in a cemetery, police have yet to make an arrest, and little, if any, information is being released about the investigation.

The St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office is handling all media statements about the Nov. 8 slaying of 11-year-old Jodi Christine Parrack.

The prosecutor's office issued a news release on Jan. 11 stating the St. Joseph County Major Crimes Task Force had amassed 561 tips in the case, "which have either been followed up on or are currently being investigated." The statement said little else new, and no other information has since been released.

Jodi, a fifth-grader at Riverside Elementary, left a friend's house in the 100 block of East Third Street at about 4:45 p.m. on Nov. 8 and was last seen riding a silver Mongoose bicycle near East Third and South Washington Street. She was last seen wearing a black sweater over a black T-shirt, jeans and black tennis shoes.

Her mother, Valerie Carver, reported her missing at about 7 that night after Jodi failed to return home by 5:30 p.m., investigators have said.

Carver was with friends searching for her daughter at about 10:30 p.m. when they found Jodi dead in the Constantine Township Cemetery. Her bike was found nearby. The girl's death has been ruled a homicide, but a cause of death has not been released.

Police have declined to say whether investigators have served any search warrants in the case or asked anyone to take a polygraph exam as part of the investigation. The prosecutor's office also declined last month to say whether dogs seen combing areas near downtown Constantine with police were part of the investigation into Jodi's death.

At least one dog was in the cemetery where Jodi's body was found. A bloodhound tracked along a downtown street near local homes and a bloodhound was near a local restaurant.

Anyone with information about Jodi's death, or anyone who may have seen her during the hours that she was missing, are asked to call Constantine police at (269) 435-4355 or St. Joseph County Central Dispatch at (269) 467-4195. 
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:734733195&start=3

CONSTANTINE MURDER CASE UPDATE
Police hope
forensic clues leads to killer
 
CONSTANTINE -- Forensic evidence collected by police will play a key role in helping determine who killed an 11-year-old Constantine girl in November, a St. Joseph County assistant prosecutor said Friday.

Constantine police and the St. Joseph County Major Crimes Task Force have received more than 630 tips in the killing of Jodi Christine Parrack, but they have not identified a suspect, Holly Curtis said. She said the analysis of evidence and the investigation are continuing.

"I think everybody from the prosecutor's office and the police officers believe that (forensic evidence) is what will ultimately solve the case," Curtis said.

Curtis declined to say Friday what forensic evidence police have collected for analysis.

Jodi, a fifth-grader at Riverside Elementary in Constantine, left a friend's house in the 100 block of East Third Street at about 4:45 p.m. on Nov. 8 and was last seen riding a silver Mongoose bicycle near East Third and South Washington Street. She was last seen wearing a black sweater over a black T-shirt, jeans and black tennis shoes.

Jodi's mother, Valerie Carver, reported her missing at about 7 that night after Jodi failed to return home by 5:30 p.m., police have said. Carver was with friends searching for her daughter at about 10:30 p.m. when they found Jodi dead in the Constantine Township Cemetery. Her bike was found nearby.

Jodi's death has been ruled a homicide, but a cause of death has not been released.

The prosecutor's office is handling all media statements about the case. Authorities have declined to say whether investigators have served any search warrants or asked anyone to take a polygraph exam as part of the probe.

The prosecutor's office declined in December to say whether dogs seen combing areas near downtown Constantine with police were part of the investigation into Jodi's death. At least one dog was in the cemetery where Jodi's body was found. A bloodhound tracked along a downtown street near local homes and a bloodhound was near a local restaurant.

In an effort to cover every "avenue " in the murder case, Curtis said Friday that investigators are now requesting that anyone who knows of someone who left the area near the time of Jodi's death, to call Constantine police at (269) 435-4355 or St. Joseph County Central Dispatch at (269) 467-4195. 
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:767306853&start=1

Prosecutor says 75 are suspects in death of 11-year-old Jodi Parrack

May 09, 2008
CENTREVILLE -- St. Joseph County Prosecutor Douglas Fisher said Thursday that there are 75 "active suspects" in the six-month-old, unsolved homicide of 11-year-old Jodi Parrack.

But the young girl's immediate family members have been cleared of suspicion, Fisher said.

Fisher declined to answer questions about whether Jodi had been sexually assaulted before she died and was left in a Constantine Township cemetery on Nov. 8.

He also skirted questions about DNA samples that a number of Constantine-area people have said they have been asked to submit to investigators.

However, Fisher confirmed police have "some scientific, forensic evidence (from the crime scene) that will be of very, very substantial assistance in both identifying and clearing suspects."

Parrack, a fifth grader, left the home of a friend in the 100-block of East Third Street at about 4:45 p.m. on Nov. 8, but never returned home.

Her mother found her body lying in the cemetery near her bicycle at about 10:30 that night.

Fisher, flanked Thursday by St. Joseph County Undersheriff Dennis Allen and Constantine Police Chief/Village Manager Mark Honeysett, said three full-time investigators remain assigned to the case, in addition to several from the Constantine Police Department.

Allen and Michigan State Police Dect. Sgt. Mike Scott are supervising the investigation.

video of the press conference at link
http://blog.mlive.com/kzgazette/2008/05/prosecutor_says_they_have_75_s.html

Kalamazoo Gazette (Michigan)
 
November 5, 2008 Wednesday 
 
Vigil set to remember slain Constantine girl
 
CONSTANTINE -- Family and friends will honor the memory of 11-year-old homicide victim Jodi Christine Parrack with a candlelight vigil Saturday on the first anniversary of her death.

Police and prosecutors, who have not released any new information about the case since May, hope the vigil in downtown Constantine will serve as a reminder that they still need the public's help solving the girl's slaying, the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release.

The Riverside Elementary School fifth-grader was found dead Nov. 8, 2007, in Constantine Township Cemetery. Authorities said she left the home of a friend in the 100 block of East Third Street at about 4:45 p.m. that day, but never returned home.

Jodi's mother, Valerie Carver, reported her missing after 7 p.m. and began her own search. Carver was with friends when they found the girl's body near her bicycle in the cemetery at about 10:30 p.m.

In May, St. Joseph County Prosecutor Douglas Fisher said investigators had 75 active suspects and that Jodi's immediate family members had been cleared of suspicion. Fisher also confirmed police had gathered forensic evidence in the case and at that time evidence was still being processed by the Michigan State Police crime lab.

Authorities ask that anyone who may have information about Jodi's killing call the Constantine Police Department at (269) 435-4355 or St. Joseph County Central Dispatch at (269) 467-4195.

Saturday's 7 p.m. vigil at South Washington Street Park is being organized by the girl's family and Constantine police officer Mike Kline, according to the prosecutor's office. 
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:880368579&start=3

Kalamazoo Gazette (Michigan) 
August 11, 2009 Tuesday   
 
UNSOLVED CONSTANTINE CASE
Girl's murder gnaws at new police chief

Former state police detective studies file on Jodi Parrack, 11

CONSTANTINE -- As he toils each day in his little office, the eyes of a young girl with flowing blonde hair gaze from a bumper sticker Jim Bedell keeps propped on his cluttered desk.

Jodi Parrack's smile beams from the decal and, Bedell said, reminds him of the pledge he made in June when he became Constantine's new police chief: He is determined to find the 11-year-old's killer.

"My main priority is to work that case," said Bedell, 65, who retired in 1999 as a detective sergeant after 25 years with the Michigan State Police. "I work on it every opportunity I have ... I just don't want this thing to go cold, and it's not going to as long as I'm working here."

Jodi, a fifth-grader at Riverside Elementary in the St. Joseph County town of Constantine, left a friend's house in the 100 block of East Third Street at about 4:45 p.m. on Nov. 8, 2007. She was last seen riding a silver Mongoose bicycle near East Third and South Washington Street wearing a black sweater over a black T-shirt, jeans and black tennis shoes.

Jodi's mother, Valerie Carver, reported her missing at about 7 that night after Jodi failed to return home by 5:30 p.m. Police said Carver was with friends searching for her daughter at about 10:30 p.m. when they found Jodi dead in the Constantine Township Cemetery. Her bike was found nearby.

Jodi's death was ruled a homicide, but the cause of her death has not been disclosed.

Bedell is a former state police investigator who ran his own private investigation business for nine years after his retirement.

The case caught his attention the first day it was reported. Now, as the village's top cop, he said his "No. 1 priority" is investigating the homicide and making an arrest.

It's a task the small-town chief says he's gladly taking. His officers are busy dealing with daily reports and calls for service and, while the agencies still provide assistance, investigators from the state police, St. Joseph County Sheriff's Office and the FBI have had to move on to other investigations.

"They've done a very good job investigating it, and I'm no miracle worker," Bedell said. "The only difference is now I can make it a priority ... I'm not going to forget about her. I just feel like I'm getting close."

Bedell said he spends at least two hours each day reviewing the thousands of pages in the case file, doing research and tracking down information on tips. He said police had received 766 tips in the case as of Monday, which includes 40 tips that still need to be followed up. About seven new tips have been received since Bedell started the job, including one from a person who contacted police this past weekend.

"Any homicide is a horrible crime, but when it's an innocent child ... it is a tough one to handle and to think that person is still out there and can do it again," the chief said.

Beneath Bedell's calm, warm demeanor is a confidence that he will solve the case. He said police have collected hundreds of DNA samples as part of their investigation, including two he submitted for analysis just two weeks ago to a state police lab.

He declined Monday to comment when asked whether police have suspects in Jodi's killing, but did say he has "some good leads."

"We just haven't run across that one right clue," Bedell said. "But we're going to ... We're going to get this guy." 
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:1021072488&start=1

Police increase efforts to find Constantine girl's killer
Michigan State Police join investigation of Jodi Parrack's death
11.8.10

CONSTANTINE— It was a crime that shocked the small village of Constantine. Jodi Parrack, 11, left a friend’s house on her bike and never made it home. Her body was found in a nearby cemetery that night. Three years after Parrack’s death, her killer has still not been found.

Instead of giving up on the investigation, police are putting forth more effort to solve the crime.

“I’m determined to find this person,” said Jim Bedell, the Constantine police chief.  “An 11-year-old girl, it’s just not right. I have an 11-year-old granddaughter and I just can’t imagine anybody doing that.”

Chief Bedell said he lives and sleeps the case.

“I dream about it. Geez, it’s just consumed me,” he said.

He started investigating Parrack’s murder as soon as he became chief of police in June of 2009. Her pictures hang on his office walls, and every week he investigates new tips. Still, he has not been able to track down her killer.

“Unfortunately, we're not much more ahead then we were,” Bedell said.

The Constantine Police Department has a staff of 10. He is the only one with time to work the case, and recently decided to ask the Michigan State Police for assistance with the investigation. Two trooper investigators will be assigned to the case starting in January.

“I'm confident this case can be solved, which is why we're here to help,” said Lt. Chuck Christensen, Michigan State Police.

Chief Bedell believes with their help, Parrack’s killer will be found, giving her family and the community great relief.

“I'm sure we're going to solve this, I’m very confident we are,” Bedell said.
http://www.wsbt.com/news/wsbt-police-increase-efforts-to-fin-110810,0,3503454.story