25 Year Old Jessica Heeringa Missing Since 4/26/13 in Norton Shores, MI Presumed Deceased

[grace-land]

http://www.freep.com/article/20130503/NEWS06/305030127/jessica-heeringa-norton-shores-missing-police-abduction

Police: Minivan owner no longer the focus in missing mom case
8:15 PM, May 3, 2013

<snipped>
Norton Shores Police Chief Daniel Shaw said the minivan owner was questioned Wednesday and Thursday. That man and several other persons of interest who were questioned are no longer a focus of the investigation, Shaw said.
<snipped>
He said police believe Heeringa’s abductor knew her.

Shaw said samples from a substance found on the concrete outside of the gas station were sent for testing. If it’s blood, Shaw said, investigators have already collected the necessary samples to determine whether it is from Heeringa.
<snipped>

[grace-land]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/05/jessica_heeringa_case_still_ve.html

Jessica Heeringa case still very much solvable, Norton Shores police chief says
on May 04, 2013 at 10:02 AM, updated May 04, 2013 at 10:06 AM

Editor's note: This is the second in a three-part series providing an in-depth look into the investigation of Jessica Heeringa's alleged abduction.

NORTON SHORES, MI -- Norton Shores Police Chief Dan Shaw – like the dozens of investigators working around the clock to locate 25-year-old Heeringa – is tired, anxious and feeling a bit frazzled these days.

The pressure is on, he said, to find the young mother who disappeared without so much as leaving a scent behind for K-9 units, who were on the scene the same Friday night she vanished.

“It is a lot of pressure. If this fails and this goes wrong, which we hope it doesn’t, it will fall on my shoulders,” Shaw said.

The current task force that includes detectives from various law enforcement agencies, with heavy Michigan State Police involvement is set up to allow Shaw deal with media inquiries so they can be focused on finding Heeringa.
 

[klaasend]

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/muskegon_county/ns-residents-get-posters-before-leaving

NS Chief: 14 tips investigated Saturday
Cops investigate tips; residents hand out posters

Updated: Saturday, 04 May 2013, 6:42 PM EDT
Published : Saturday, 04 May 2013, 3:48 PM EDT

NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WOOD) - While speaking live to 24 Hour News 8 Saturday evening, Norton Shores Police Chief Daniel Shaw said law enforcement agents spent Saturday investigating over a dozen tips.

"We have been tracking down numerous tips and leads.  Today I know, for example, we had approximately 14 people we interviewed; most of which had nothing to do with this case. But we're moving on, we're getting closer," Shaw said.

When asked if 14 was the normal amount of people interviewed, Shaw said, "Sometimes more; it depends on the distance. We're not just staying in Norton Shores. We're going to Whitehall, we're going to Ottawa County and other places."
 

[klaasend]

http://fox17online.com/2013/05/04/400-dollars-found-in-heeringas-wallet-and-register-untouched/#axzz2SNJ9eWy6

400 Dollars Found In Heeringa’s Wallet And Register Untouched

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.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/muskegon_county/ns-residents-get-posters-before-leaving

NS Chief: 14 tips investigated Saturday
Cops investigate tips; residents hand out posters
Updated: Saturday, 04 May 2013, 6:42 PM EDT
Published : Saturday, 04 May 2013, 3:48 PM EDT

NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WOOD) - While speaking live to 24 Hour News 8 Saturday evening, Norton Shores Police Chief Daniel Shaw said law enforcement agents spent Saturday investigating over a dozen tips.

"We have been tracking down numerous tips and leads.  Today I know, for example, we had approximately 14 people we interviewed; most of which had nothing to do with this case. But we're moving on, we're getting closer," Shaw said.

When asked if 14 was the normal amount of people interviewed, Shaw said, "Sometimes more; it depends on the distance. We're not just staying in Norton Shores. We're going to Whitehall, we're going to Ottawa County and other places."

As the investigation into the abduction of Jessica Heeringa continues, residents of Norton Shores are helping to get the word out any way they can.
 

[klaasend]

 

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/muskegon_county/ns-chief-secret-service-investigating

NS Chief: Secret Service investigating
Norton Shores Police working around the clock

Updated: Saturday, 04 May 2013, 11:44 PM EDT
Published : Saturday, 04 May 2013, 11:44 PM EDT

NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WOOD) - As the search for Jessica Heeringa continues, Norton Shores Police Chief, Daniel Shaw, tells us United States Secret Service Agents and detectives with the Ottawa County Sheriff's department have been called in to help find the 25-year-old woman.  The additional investigators plan to be in Norton Shores helping with the case for as long as possible.

The additional investigators haven't changed the way employees at the Norton Shores Police Department are handling the case.  Chief Shaw says,  "We haven' reduced the number of investigators we have it's just different people in different roles."

 

[Nut44x4]

mmmmmmmmm.......interesting   

[grace-land]

Any active investigations of credit card fraud in the Michigan area?  SS also investigates credit card fraud.  Any connection to the abduction of Jessica to these investigations?

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/muskegon_county/police-50-new-tips-in-heeringa-case
Sketch in Heeringa case released
Updated: Tuesday, 30 Apr 2013, 11:57 PM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 30 Apr 2013, 7:37 AM EDT

Police also checked the sketch against the descriptions of four suspects in a January credit card fraud case in which Heeringa is a witness, but Chief Shaw said it did not match. In that case, four Hispanic males bought lottery tickets with fraudulent credit cards and tried to cash the tickets at the Sternberg Exxon Mobil, but failed because the tickets had already been flagged by the lottery commission.

And an unrelated case of credit card fraud by a man from Michigan in January--

http://www.freep.com/article/20130118/NEWS06/130118078/Tyhkan%20S.%20Brunson%20credit%20card%20fraud%20Kentucky
Michigan man gets 57 months after credit card fraud in Kentucky
6:55 PM, Jan. 18, 2013

COVINGTON, Ky. - A Michigan man has been sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for using other people's credit card information to make purchases at retail stores in three northern Kentucky counties.

U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning on Friday sentenced 34-year-old Tyhkan S. Brunson for the use of unauthorized credit cards and aggravated identity theft. Bunning also ordered Brunson and his co-defendants to jointly pay $5,478.76 in restitution.

Prosecutors said Brunson and three others used counterfeit credit cards bearing real numbers from 32 people and, in one day, drove from Michigan to Kentucky to purchase thousands of dollars in gift cards and other merchandise.
 

[grace-land]

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/05/05/police-get-1000-tips-in-gas-station-clerk-abduction/

Police Get 1,000 Tips In Gas Station Clerk Abduction
May 5, 2013 1:47 PM

NORTON SHORES (WWJ) – Tips are still pouring in now more than a week since the disappearance of a Muskegon County woman.

In a live interview on WWJ Newsradio 950 on Sunday, Norton Shores Police Chief Daniel Shaw said they’ve received more than 1,000 tips in the case of 25-year-old Jessica Heeringa, who was abducted from a gas station where she had been working.

“We’re taking the high priority tips first; we’re tracking down the people, or the vehicle that’s been described to us, and then making sure that that vehicle or person was not involved. And if they were, trying to find out more about what they know about this incident,” Shaw said.
 

[iluvmua]

update: I do not know what kind of vehicle Luke Louks drives.

He does look very much like the sketch and he lives 3 minutes away from the gas station.

And I also don't know if he was the RSO that has been cleared.

[Amys Sister]

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/muskegon_county/ns-chief-secret-service-investigating

NS Chief: Secret Service investigating
Norton Shores Police working around the clock

Updated: Saturday, 04 May 2013, 11:44 PM EDT
Published : Saturday, 04 May 2013, 11:44 PM EDT

NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WOOD) - As the search for Jessica Heeringa continues, Norton Shores Police Chief, Daniel Shaw, tells us United States Secret Service Agents and detectives with the Ottawa County Sheriff's department have been called in to help find the 25-year-old woman.  The additional investigators plan to be in Norton Shores helping with the case for as long as possible.

The additional investigators haven't changed the way employees at the Norton Shores Police Department are handling the case.  Chief Shaw says,  "We haven' reduced the number of investigators we have it's just different people in different roles."

 

 

[grace-land]

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/muskegon_county/jessica-heeringa-abduction-investigation-update-may-5-2013

'Around the clock' search for Jessica
Updated: Sunday, 05 May 2013, 7:18 PM EDT
Published : Sunday, 05 May 2013, 6:52 PM EDT

NORTON SHORES, Mich. (WOOD) - Investigators continue to "work around the clock" to find Jessica Heeringa, who has been missing for more than a week, according to the chief of the Norton Shores Police Department.
 

Shaw said investigators continue to interview witnesses and possible persons of interests. Tips also continue to come in. Several Sunday tips were classified as "high-priority," Shaw said and were looked into.

No suspect has been identified.

Authorities continue to focus their investigation on a suspect sketch and surveillance images of a silver minivan  he is believed to have been driving. That van is their only lead at this point, Shaw said.

Shaw said going into the second full week of the investigation, the Norton Shores Police Department will continue to work with the other law enforcement agencies that make up the task force looking into the case.

Investigators have put in long hours, Shaw said, and a few extra people are expected to come in to help in the coming days, giving others a day off to rest before they return to the investigation "rejuvenated."

The US Secret Service  is also aiding in the search. Shaw said the federal agency offered to help and local investigators agreed. An analyst is now helping sort through cell phone records, the state sex offender registry, vehicle data and data of people who match the description of the possible suspect seen in the sketch.

[grace-land]

Video at the link

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/255484/14/Secret-Service-analyzing-cell-phones-to-find-Jessica-Heeringa

Cell phone data crucial to finding Heeringa's alleged abducter
9:01 PM, May 5, 2013

 
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
 
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.

[grace-land]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/05/jessica_heeringas_abduction_in.html

Jessica Heeringa's abduction case now includes help of U.S. Secret Service with cell phone analysis
on May 06, 2013 at 8:45 AM, updated May 06, 2013 at 9:29 AM

 
Shaw said if they can run the vehicle plate number they can get access to a driver’s license photo. The department will work with the Michigan Secretary of State and the agent analyzing the cell phone information.

But it may take some time, he said. Thousands of silver minivans travel that area, he said.

The police department has a cell phone data tracking unit – something obtained through grant money last year – that can basically “mirror” an individual’s cell phone.

Investigators have asked cell phone service carriers for access to all area data following Heeringa's disappearance. Several phones were voluntarily brought in to be analyzed, Shaw said, and hundreds of contact numbers will have to be looked through.

“What we are trying to find is connections with the people we talked to and Jessica, because we think it’s an acquaintance of hers, possibly. We want to trace it back to anyone we might not have talked to,” Shaw said.

“We’ve downed-loaded the phones and we’re going through all the data. The agent was interested in the case and he has ties here so he wanted to help," Shaw added.

Shaw said, to clarify, they are not “tracking” phones. 

“We copied information from the phones with the device. We copy it like copying a hard drive. We go through it with the tools and try to connect any phone numbers,” Shaw said.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/05/post_255.html

Lead Jessica Heeringa investigator Dan Shaw to take questions about the case during live chat on Tuesday
on May 06, 2013 at 3:42 PM, updated May 06, 2013 at 4:17 PM

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI -- Norton Shores Police Chief Dan Shaw, leading the investigation into Jessica Heeringa’s alleged abduction, is expected to take questions from the public at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 7, during a live chat on MLive.
 
As of late Monday afternoon, Heeringa had not yet been located and a suspect or suspects had not yet been identified.

So prepare your questions for Shaw and join us at 11 a.m. Tuesday on MLive.com.

Shaw said, barring any break in the case, he plans to be at MLive and The Muskegon Chronicle to answer questions readers may have.

While he can’t answer questions that could compromise the investigation, he plans on answering as many questions as he can within the hour timeframe.

Hope to see you there! Or you can post your questions in the comments below.

[grace-land]

https://twitter.com/AnnMarieLaFlamm

Ann Marie LaFlamme ‏@AnnMarieLaFlamm  2m 
#FirstOnFox @NSPDChiefShaw 'additional evidence' other than the suspicious substance collected and sent to lab-still awaiting results @fox17

[grace-land]

https://twitter.com/AnnMarieLaFlamm

Ann Marie LaFlamme ‏@AnnMarieLaFlamm  8m 
We're learning investigators sent SEVERAL items & samples from the scene the night #JessicaHeeringa vanished @FOX17 pic.twitter.com/7xMqXPfaZr

[grace-land]

https://twitter.com/AnnMarieLaFlamm
 
Ann Marie LaFlamme ‏@AnnMarieLaFlamm  2m 
Investigators are still working to find more information on what #JessicaHeeringa did earlier the day of her abduction. @fox17 #FindJessica

Ann Marie LaFlamme Ann Marie LaFlamme ‏@AnnMarieLaFlamm  5m 
@NSPDChiefShaw says MORE than a dozen people interviewed today in the abduction of #JessicaHeeringa throughout multiple counties @FOX17

Ann Marie LaFlamme ‏@AnnMarieLaFlamm  14m 
Today 2 analysis from the Michigan Intelligence Operations Center or MIOC added to the team in the search for #JessicaHeeringa @FOX17

[grace-land]

https://twitter.com/AnnMarieLaFlamm

Ann Marie LaFlamme Ann Marie LaFlamme ‏@AnnMarieLaFlamm  1h 
Police are checking phone records at the gas station in addition to nearby cell phone tower hits in the search for #JessicaHeeringa @FOX17

Daniel Shaw Daniel Shaw ‏@NSPDChiefShaw  1h 
#jessicaheeringa Evening debriefing completed. Intel analysts are combing through digital and cellphone data. pic.twitter.com/p3IjQAeSaI

 Retweeted by Ann Marie LaFlamme 
   View photo     

Ann Marie LaFlamme Ann Marie LaFlamme ‏@AnnMarieLaFlamm  2h 
Lots of questions about #JessicaHeering's cell phone. Police say her fiancé had the phone they share  the night of the abduction

[grace-land]

https://twitter.com/AnnMarieLaFlamm

Ann Marie LaFlamme Ann Marie LaFlamme ‏@AnnMarieLaFlamm  16m 
@NSPDChiefShaw says police are asking for witness input in identifying possible suspects. #JessicaHeeringa @FOX17 #FindJessica