NORTON SHORE, Mich.– It’s been more than a week since 25-year-old Jessica Heeringa went missing from Norton Shores.
For days her family and investigators have been searching for answers, any sign of the missing mom. Now in their 8th day, they’re still not giving up hope.
Norton Shores Police chief Daniel Shaw says they interviewed at least 14 people Saturday and even added new members to the task force. Including some road patrol officers in Norton Shores that have even become temporary detectives to help out, doing anything they can to find answers.
They’ve had more than 1,000 tips come in and there are more than 50 investigators on the task force working to bring Jessica home.
“We have detectives as you know working on the video surveillance side of things, detectives working on cell phone data and the sex offender list, we’re going multiple directions at one time to try to cover a lot of ground” said Shaw.
The chief says there’s more than 60 registered sex offenders in Norton Shores, and checking them off the list is key. Fox 17 cameras even caught detectives talking with one of them today after a tip came in.
“Search out all the sex offenders that match the description of our suspect, cross-reference any that may have registered a gray or sliver vehicle, cross-reference any of the other data were looking for you know the height and weight.”
It’s just one piece to the puzzle they’re working to solve. Jessica’s grandma Diane Homrich said she even stopped into the police station Saturday morning to thank them for all their hard work.
“They showed us a room where all the detectives are working and so i just introduced myself and i said “I’m Jessie’s grandma and i said you know what i give great big hugs” and and I went around and hugged all these police men and by the end we were all crying.”
A sheer sign of just how invested this whole community is, in brining Jessica home, people still stopping by to offer support to her family.“Just the love and the care and the concern and the prayers from this community keep us going” said Homrich.
“We are going to find Jessica and bring her home to her family and then we are going to solve this case and bring this person to justice who took her. That has been our goal from the start and we haven’t waned from that one moment” said Shaw.
The chief says their focus isn’t just here in Norton Shores, many of the tips have brought them into other counties. If you have information that can help call Silent Observer at 231-72-CRIME.
