ADA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — More than four decades after Deanie Peters vanished from a West Michigan middle school, the unknown continues to impact the lives of those connected to the 14-year-old. This includes family, friends and those who saw or spoke to Deanie the night of her disappearance.
Family friends
Deanie would often spend holidays and weekends with the Herbert family.
"She was like the daughter I never had," Ariadyne Herbert said. Herbert was at the school the night of the disappearance and remembers seeing Deanie walk out of the gym.
The Herberts were close family friends of the Peters family, sharing countless memories together.
"Every weekend we did something together, cross country skiing or dinner or movies or played cards. We were two families that were very close," Herbert said.
Deanie played games in the Herbert living room and ate meals at their dining table, leaving lasting impressions on the family.
"Deanie was such a character. She really was. She was sweet," Herbert said.
Those who knew Deanie remember her distinctive appearance and magnetic personality.
"She was very, very attractive," Herbert shared. "Lot of girls were jealous of her. Lot of guys just adored her."
Few people were closer to Deanie, though, than Kathy Weeks Kingma.
"She was my best friend," Kingma said.
Kingma still carries vivid memories of their time together.
"She had the most contagious laugh. We had the greatest memories listening to Meatloaf," Kingma recalled. "We became friends. There wasn't a condition. There was no condition."
Kingma's last memory of Deanie was talking on the phone and Deanie sharing that she had to go to her younger brother's wrestling practice.
"My memory is the last time I talked to my friend on a phone who said, 'I'll call you,'" Kathy recounted.
Unanswered questions
That evening, when Deanie didn't return from using the restroom, Ariadyne Herbert waited anxiously as Mary Peters began her search.
"My husband and I are standing there, waiting, waiting, waiting. Mary doesn't come back for quite a while. She comes back and says she's not there, and I've looked everywhere," Herbert remembered.
After searching the building and checking with friends, panic set in.
"I went looking around the school," Mary remembers. "I was panicking."
Deputies arrived at the middle school around 6:45 p.m., nearly two hours after Deanie likely walked out of the gym to use the bathroom.
The investigation into Deanie's disappearance began that night, launching what would become decades of unanswered questions.
"It's affected a lot of people because of how mysterious it's been, and there have been no answers to what happened with her after she walked out of that school," Detective Paul VanRhee said.
Herbert acknowledged the grief, particularly for Deanie's mother.
"It hasn't been easy for me, either, but nothing like what it's been for Mary," Herbert said.
Mary said she can't even picture a life with Deanie after 14.
"I've missed her life," she said. "I've missed everything there is to celebrate, graduations, proms, dances, first car, driver's license, wedding shopping with her, doing girl things. We've missed it all."
Forever 14
Although life has continued for family and friends, a part of their heart remains in 1981.
Kingma honored her friend's memory when naming her own daughter.
"My daughter was named through Deanie and my grandma... because that was me taking a part of her with me," Kingma said.
Even those who knew Deanie briefly, like Robert Alexander, carry the impact of her disappearance.
"It's still something that you don't forget," Alexander said. "In her little mark that she made on my life, casually, I can only imagine, to the people that had these deep, meaningful friendships with her, what it still is doing to them in their lives."
Sue Duyser, another community member affected by the case, reflects on how the mystery has stayed with her through the years.
"It's just sad, horrifying. And I've got grandkids that have gone through that age. My own kids were young at the time, and then they grew up to be that age, and I can't even imagine being family or her mother," Duyser said.
It's why they agreed to speak to us for our coverage.
A hope for answers
Because, despite the passage of time, those connected to Deanie's case maintain hope that answers can still be found.
"1,000,000% or I wouldn't be having this conversation with you," Alexander said when asked if he believes answers are still possible.
They believe, and Detective VanRhee hopes, that by sharing their memories, someone else might remember crucial details.
Where is Deanie?
New timeline details in Deanie Peters cold case
"Somebody knows something, and wouldn't it just be the right thing to do?" Duyser said
"I hope that with these puzzle pieces, someone steps up to the plate. You know, enough's enough. 45 years. How much longer do you want?" Kingma said.
They all hope for an end to this decades-old puzzle.
"There might be one piece missing, and that's the answer," Mary said.
Submit a tip
The Kent County Sheriff's Office is actively pursuing any information in the disappearance of Deanie Peters. If you have a tip, you are encouraged to contact detectives through the methods below.
- Call: (616) 632-6125
- Online form
- Silent Observer: (616) 774-2345 or online form
WATCH: FOX 17's full report on Deanie Peter's 1981 disappearance
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