'Somebody ... knows something:' Family hopes documentary leads to answers in cold case

MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP, Michigan — A month before Paige Renkoski, 30, seemingly disappeared into thin air on May 24, 1990, she traveled to see family in Atlanta, Georgia.

Two of Paige's siblings — Sheril Martin, who had just had a baby, and Michele Renkoski-Hollis — both lived in Atlanta at the time, and Renkoski-Hollis remembers watching Paige dote on her new nephew, playing with him and taking him for walks. It's one of the last memories she has of her sister.

"She just loved on kids and so she was so excited to have a nephew," Renkoski-Hollis, now 57, said. "She was a family person and always wanted kids herself."

Thirty-three years after Paige Renkoski's disappearance, what happened to the blonde, blue-eyed, 5-foot-6; 125-pound substitute teacher remains a mystery. She was last seen on the shoulder of westbound Interstate 96 in Michigan, about one-quarter of a mile east of the Fowlerville exit. Witnesses said she was talking to a man while standing next to a maroon van.

Police have received more than 1,300 tips related to Paige's case over the years, said Det. Sgt. Matt Young of the Livingston County (Michigan) Sheriff's Office, but none have led to any solid leads.

"How can someone just vanish and never be found?" Young asked.

That lack of evidence three decades later, despite massive public interest in Renkoski's case, is what makes her story and that of her family, who have never abandoned their search for information, right for a documentary, says Geri Alumit Zeldes, a Michigan State University journalism professor and filmmaker.

Zeldes and two fellow MSU alums started working on the film in May. Both Renkoski's family and the Livingston County Sheriff's Office will participate, believing the documentary could reach someone with answers.

No leads, no evidence

People close to the investigation into Renkoski's case — her family, the police, and officials who've advocated keeping it in the public eye — say it isn't beyond solving.

Witness accounts put Paige Renkoski at Detroit Metropolitan Airport at about 11:30 a.m. on May 24, 1990. She dropped off her mother, Ardis Renkoski, then visited with a friend at a park in Canton. That afternoon, between 2:30 and 2:45 p.m., she stopped to buy a beer at a party store at Ford Road, west of Interstate 275 in Canton. Witnesses spotted her on the shoulder of the highway shortly after, between 3:15 and 4:30 p.m., talking to at least one man, possibly two.

The vehicle Renkoski was driving, which belonged to her mother’s employer, was found that evening. It was still running with the lights on. Her shoes and purse were inside.

"I'm almost positive that somebody probably saw something that law enforcement has not talked to yet," said Inspector Sarah Krebs, who was previously the Missing Persons Unit sergeant for the Michigan State Police. Krebs is the president and founder of Missing in Michigan, a nonprofit that assists the families of missing persons.

"This is going to be a case that is going to be solved by witnesses," Young said. "Letting it fade away and out of public light will never bring closure to this case."

Paige's sister Tami Renkoski, 65, said her sister was a homebody who didn't even like traveling.

"She didn’t walk away on her own. No way," she said. "She was engaged. She wanted a family. Where would she go?"

Paige Renkoski's sudden disappearance makes for a compelling documentary, Zeldes said, but what strikes her the most is the Renkoski family's tenacity over the years in advocating for answers.

After her daughter disappeared, Ardis Renkoski, who died in 2017, became an advocate for other victims’ families and a liaison to law enforcement. She served on Missing in Michigan's board and was given the group’s first Michigan State Police Missing in Michigan Advocate of the Year in 2015. Today it's known as the Ardis Renkoski Advocate of the Year award.

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"My mission in my career is really to excavate stories that haven't been told to at least this generation," Zeldes said. "Paige's story squarely fits into that mission because this is 33 years later and you still have a family who is suffering and who is still really hopeful that she may still be out there."

What that looks like for the Renkoski family will be at the heart of the film, she said.

'Somebody out there knows something ...'

After police realized Paige Renkoski was missing, the car she was driving home to Okemos was processed for evidence, Young said.

"They did locate fingerprints that were sent in for analysis," he said. "There was trace evidence, obviously her shoes were taken. The keys were taken out of the car, but at the time, in 1990, DNA wasn't really a thing. We didn't swab steering wheels and process things for DNA back in 1990. That was something that nobody knew much about or anything about it the time."

Neither Renkoski-Hollis nor Tami Renkoski believe their sister is still alive. The family held a dual memorial service for Ardis and Paige in 2018, but Renkoski-Hollis said her family will not stop searching for the truth.

"I keep in touch with the cold case team frequently," she said. "About every six weeks or so we chat."

But when Zeldes first approached the Renkoski family with her hopes for the film, Renkoski-Hollis said she had one question.

"I said, 'I have a question,'" she said. "'Why? Why us? We don't have any DNA. We don't have fingerprints or footprints or anything like that. How could you do a documentary with really nothing to go on?'"

The unknowns make it worth taking a closer look, Zeldes told her: "That's exactly why we want to do this documentary."

Participating in the filming can't hurt, Renkoski family members said, and it might prompt someone to come forward.

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"It's just reminding everybody that there are people out there that still care about her," said Renkoski's niece, Nikki Hollis. "Somebody out there knows something and they might see it. Hopefully, it bothers them. Hopefully, they end up sharing their information at some point."

Her sister has missed so much, Tami Renkoski said. "I mean, weddings, funerals, births, holidays, good times, bad times, you know? Life. I think she's up in heaven with our mom so my mom finally has closure knowing what really happened."

Anyone with information about Paige Renkoski or her disappearance is encouraged to contact the Livingston County Sheriff's Office at 517-540-7880 or email coldcasetips@livgov.com .

Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ .