Jessica Heeringa's Blood Found at Gas Station; Police Release Sketch of Suspect
Jessica Heeringa's blood has been found at the gas station in Norton Shores, Michigan, where she was last seen. Heeringa's family has been notified but holds out hope that she is still alive after disappearing on April 26.
"The substance has been confirmed as blood. Based on a subsequent DNA analysis, the blood has been confirmed to be from Jessica Lynn Heeringa," police said in a statement released yesterday.
Witnesses have described Heeringa as one who always had a kind word for others and could have been helping someone when she was abducted. There were no signs of struggle at the gas station, and her purse and keys were found inside the building. Officials believe that she knew, or at least was an acquaintance of, the person who abducted her.
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Police released surveillance footage of a silver minivan they believe was used in the abduction. Christian VanAntewerpen told police that he noticed a man flirting with Heeringa moments before she disappeared.
"He was just like, 'Hey, what are you doing over here? Aren't you supposed to be inside?' Just kind of being real flirty, weird about it. It was just bizarre that he seemed to be actively looking for her, like he knew her and then had this attitude that he wanted to have a conversation with her and then conduct business, and that is what seemed really out of place to me," VanAntwerpen told ABC News.
"She's a good mother and she needs to come home," fiancé Dakotah Dyer told ABC. "She has a family that loves her."
Dyer has been cleared in the investigation and has been caring for their 3-year-old son by himself while the investigation continues.
Police have released a sketch of the minivan driver, whom they have named as a person of interest. He is a white male approximately six feet tall with a medium to heavy build.
"With the sketch, now we are retracing some of our steps. We are taking the sketch out to some of those individuals we've already talked to and are showing them the sketch," North Shores Police Chief Daniel Shaw told WZZM.
