True Life Tuesday: Paige Renkoski

I think that this maybe the case the started my interest in true crime. I was 14 years old when this happened and it was right by my hometown.

Paige Marie Renkosi was born on February 2, 1960 in Lansing, Michigan. At the time of her disappearance she was working as a substitute teacher in living in DeWitt just north of Lansing. On May 24, 1990 she took her mother to Detroit Metro Airport around 11:30am, stopped to visit with a friend in Canton on her way home. Around 3pm witnesses stated that they say her pulled over on the side of I-96 near Fowlerville. She was seen talking to 2 African American men and they said that she seemed upset.

Around 6pm her car was towed. It was found running, the door unlocked with her purse and shoes inside. Since police believed that this was just an abandoned vehicle it was not initially processed as a crime scene. When the car was processed there were finger and palm prints found but they did not match any listed in the database. 

About 6 months after she disappeared police received an anonymous letter. The writer stated that they waited until they were able to verify certain facts to contact them. In the letter was a hand drawn map of a location in Handy Township where she was buried. In November 2011 a cadaver dog picked up a scent in this area but she was never located. Also in May 2011 a pond in Handy Township was searched but again nothing was found.

There are two theories that have come to light in the years since Paige disappeared. The first is that she was stopped and kidnapping by someone impersonating a police office. The same year in the same area a woman reported a man flashing a badge at her asking her to pull over. Another theory is that this was a staged accident and kidnapping. However, there was no damage on the car to make this theory seem relevant. 

My own idea is that maybe this was human trafficking. While this was not a well known issue in 1990 like it is today it did still happen back then. She was a very beautiful woman so she could have made a good target. Unfortunately Paige's mother, who always fought to keep her daughter's story alive, passed away in December 2017 without knowing what happened to her daughter. This cold case remains active with the Livingston County Sheriff's Department.