Just Questions, No Answers 29 Years After Woman's Disappearance
May 23, 2019
Friday will mark 29 years since a teacher went missing near Fowlerville and it’s a mystery local authorities hold out hope that one day they will solve.
30-year-old teacher Paige Renkoski of Okemos disappeared on May 24th, 1990 after last being seen near Fowlerville. She had dropped her mother off at Detroit Metro Airport at approximately 11:30 that morning and then visited a friend in Canton Township. A clerk at a store west of I-275 remembered her coming in and purchasing beer between 2:30 and 2:45pm. That beer, along with her purse and shoes, were later found inside her running car on the west side of I-96 near the Fowlerville exit.
Witnesses told police they saw Renkoski talking to a man whose maroon minivan was parked behind her car, but all attempts to positively identify that person have failed. The Livingston County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Team continues to investigate but has never found any trace of Renkoski, despite multiple searches for her remains over the years. Sheriff Mike Murphy says the county’s cold case team continues to meet once a week and this case is always a priority.
Sadly, Paige’s mother, Ardis Renkoski, passed away in December of 2017 without ever learning what happened to her daughter. Although in a 2015 interview with WHMI she said she was under no illusions about her daughter’s fate and knew almost immediately that she met a bad end. But in the event a breakthrough ever is made, DNA samples from her and Paige’s two sisters remain on file.
Anyone with information about what they may have seen that day or heard since then is encouraged to contact the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 517-546-8477 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP. Information can be left anonymously. (JK)