Gone in a Blink

Gone Without a Trace: The Mysterious Disappearance of Paige Renkoski

• Gone in a Blink • Season 3 • Episode 31

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What if a routine day could suddenly twist into an unsolved mystery that would haunt a community for decades? Today, we unravel the baffling disappearance of Paige Renkoski from a highway in Michigan, tracing her last known steps and the chilling details that unfolded after her car was found idling, her belongings eerily untouched. Join us as we revisit eyewitness accounts of her emotional state and interactions with strange men near a minivan, and the unsettling questions these observations raise.

Suspicion looms large as we scrutinize the peculiar elements of Paige's case, from her abandoned car with the windshield wipers on to the cryptic anonymous letter that emerged years later. We dissect every angle the investigation took—or perhaps missed—including the role of a suspect whose identity remains shrouded in mystery even today. Through a close examination of police efforts and public contributions, we ponder whether key evidence slipped through the fingers of those searching for answers.

In the quest for resolution, we highlight the importance of community involvement and how your tips could be the missing piece of this decades-old puzzle. We invite listeners to not only reflect on the haunting possibilities of being a victim of circumstance but also to engage with us on social media, share thoughts, and maybe suggest the next gripping case to explore. As we continue to seek justice for Paige, your voice could be a crucial ally in piecing together the truth.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Paige_Renkoski
https://www.bigrapidsnews.com/news/article/missing-paige-renkoski-cold-case-michigan-tips-19476701.php
https://www.wilx.com/2023/05/24/msu-professor-brings-new-efforts-investigate-case-missing-okemos-woman/
https://charleyproject.org/case/paige-marie-renkoski
https://wbckfm.com/cold-case-fowlerville-the-disappearance-of-paige-renkoski/
https://coalitionforthemurderedandmissing.org/paige-renkoski/

Music:
Crime Trap by Muza Productions
Creepy-Echo-Piano by Tim Kulig
Sad Trap Beat by BRVAN

News audio courtesy of WILX

Gone in a Blink is created by Heather Hicks and Danielle E.
Written and produced by Heather Hicks and hosted by Danielle E. and Heather Hicks.
Gone in a Blink theme: Crime Trap created and produced by Muzaproduction

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Thanks for joining us on the airwaves. And remember......Be Safe, Be Smart, and Try Not to Blink.

Speaker 1:

A cold case team armed with cadaver dogs picks up a scent in the search for Paige Minkowski, missing since 1990. The 21-year-old disappeared from I-96, her purse and shoes still inside her running car. 30-year-old Paige Minkowski. She was last seen in May of 1990.

Speaker 2:

The date is May 24, 1990. The place is the side of Interstate 96 near Fallerville, michigan. A young woman pulls her car to the side of the road for reasons we may never know. Pulls her car to the side of the road for reasons we may never know, she is soon approached by two men walking towards her vehicle. Multiple witnesses driving by claim that the young woman appeared very emotional. No one passing by seems to think twice about this interaction until the young woman's car is parked in the very same spot several hours later. The car is still running, the windshield wipers swing back and forth and not a drop of rain in the forecast. Back and forth, and not a drop of rain in the forecast. This time the young woman is nowhere to be found and neither are the men who had approached her hours before. This is the case into the disappearance of Paige Rinkoski.

Speaker 2:

And this is Gone in a Blink. Hey, true crime fans, I'm your host, heather, and I'm Danielle. Welcome to episode 31 of Gone in a Blink. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and, wherever you are in the world, I hope you were able to enjoy time with the people you love and kind of decompress from all the crazy hustle and bustle that comes with the holiday season.

Speaker 3:

Yes, happy new year. I hope it's off to a good start. I know here in KC we are trying to dig ourselves out of a big snowstorm.

Speaker 2:

Yes, we here in Kansas City survived what the local news outlets are referring to as snowmageddon. I believe we probably got somewhere around 10 inches of snow in a matter of a day and a half, with 20 to 30 mile per hour wind gusts and the icy roads and several of the local interstate shut down, schools shut down, the whole thing, and I understand that some of our northerners like from the Dakotas and places like that. To them this is nothing because they're used to getting so much of the snow, but for us Midwesterners it's kind of a lot to take in.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I'm still trying to dig myself out of my driveway and, of course, with the snow plows coming, you get dug out and then they push it all back onto your driveway Again. Like Heather said, I'm sure that Northeasterners I'm sure that this is nothing to them, but oh, here in the Midwest it is really shutting down everything.

Speaker 2:

So January really obviously did make an unforgettable entrance this year. So today's case is out of Livingston County, Michigan. Today we are talking about the disappearance of Paige Rinkoski, so if you're ready, let's jump right in. Paige Marie Rinkoski was born on February 2nd 1960. She was a beloved substitute teacher from DeWitt Township, Michigan, which is close to Okemos, Michigan, where she also worked as a preschool aide while going to school to earn a degree in early childhood development. She was described by many who knew her as being fun-loving and extremely hard-working. She soon met the love of her life, a man by the name of Steve Debrabander, and the two ended up moving in together Soon after the happy couple became engaged and were to be married in November of 1990. Everything was going great for Paige and she was genuinely happy.

Speaker 2:

On May 24th 1990, around 11.30 am, Paige drove her mother to the Detroit Metro Airport, which is approximately 84.5 miles or 136 kilometers southeast of Okemos. After dropping her mom off at the airport, Paige drove to Canton, Michigan, where she had plans to meet up with a friend for lunch, and Canton is only about 14 miles north of the Detroit airport, or 24 kilometers and roughly a 25 minute drive. So after leaving her friend Paige, drove to a local convenience store located just west of Interstate 275 in Canton where she purchased a single can of beer, and this was between 2.30 and 2.45 pm. The store clerk distinctly remembered seeing Paige that day because she was wearing a bright, multicolored pair of baggy flower print pants and a very distinctive necklace. From there she had plans to go watch her fiance play softball, which should have only been about a 30-minute drive from the Canton area, which should have only been about a 30-minute drive from the Canton area.

Speaker 2:

By 3.30 pm witnesses would report seeing Page standing on the westbound shoulder of Interstate 96 near the Fowlerville exit, talking with two unidentified men driving a maroon or burgundy-colored minivan. It was reported that there may have been a third man either inside or near the van as well. So several witnesses reported that it seemed Paige was upset because she was seen tossing her hands up in the air as one of the men appeared to be comforting her as he put his hand on her shoulder. Several hours later, one of the same witnesses who saw page standing on the side of interstate 96 earlier that day with the unidentified men spotted page's 1986 oldsmobile cutlass parked in the same spot when they drove past there again at 7 30 that evening. The car appeared to be idling and the windshield wipers were on, yet no one was in the car, and the burgundy color minivan with the men were gone. This was concerning to the witness, and so they notified police.

Speaker 2:

By 7 48 pm, an officer arrives on the scene to find that Paige's silver 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass was in fact still idling on the shoulder of Interstate 96 with the windshield wipers on, despite the fact that it was a clear evening. The car had no damage. The doors were unlocked, the lights and the radio were on, and Paige's purse and shoes were still inside the vehicle, along with the can of beer that she had purchased earlier in the day. The officer on scene doesn't know anything as suspicious, and so he decides to run the tags on the car. Since the car belonged to Paige's mother artist, he tried calling her. However, she was on vacation and she wasn't able to get the call.

Speaker 2:

Now I just want to stop for a second and take note that the officer didn't find anything suspicious with the vehicle. I personally find it very suspicious that Paige is nowhere to be found. Her car has been idling for hours on the side of the interstate and her purse and shoes are still inside the vehicle. So, because the officer didn't find anything suspicious, he reported the vehicle as being abandoned and had the vehicle towed. So what are your?

Speaker 3:

thoughts on that. This all to me personally sounds very suspicious, but I keep on kind of going back to that. This was 1990. So maybe for that time, as odd as that sounds, I could see the police officer not thinking it that suspicious or getting a full picture of really what was going on. Because back then, I mean I doubt they had a cell phone. They tried to call the mom, couldn't get a hold of her because she was on vacation. Those are things that would not be happening here today. If she never showed up to the fiance's softball game, then he would be trying to call. Now, that wasn't an option in 1990.

Speaker 3:

The oddest thing to me and I don't know if our listeners feel the same way how on earth could the car idle for that long With you said lights on? You said I mean we're talking hours. The battery wouldn't have ran down by then. I mean I don't know if that's another like I don't know 1990-ism or not that oh, they don't make cars like how they used to. But I could not imagine I mean my mind because we just went through this snowstorm of people being stranded on the highway for like five or six hours in our area and running out of gas batteries going dead because of that. But you're saying that a car at 1986 cutlass could stay idle with everything on for hours like that just on the side of the road. That doesn't seem to make sense to me. So that's kind of where I wonder too if some kind of lapse, if they could have came back to that location at this point it seems a little far-fetched, but I guess that's where my brain is is that there's a missing piece someplace?

Speaker 2:

I think that if she had a full tank of gas, that car could sit there for hours running as long as she had gas, as long as the gas tank didn't run empty and just die. I don't know how long you can sit there and leave your car running on a full tank of gas, but I'm guessing it's quite a bit of time, and I probably most definitely four hours, but I just thought that it was so. I mean, to me that is so suspicious in itself, because people had driven by around 3 pm and spotted her on the side of the road and we're talking four hours later and her car is still running. That alone is suspicious, because of the fact it's running, not because of the fact that her car's on the side of the road and she's nowhere to be found, but also her purse and shoes are inside. Why are her shoes inside of the car?

Speaker 2:

Now, one thing we could play devil's advocate and say that it could have been a possibility that she did abandon the car. Okay, maybe the car had issues and broke down and just maybe she fought to get it started again and then actually did get it started again, and then she was afraid to shut it off and instead got picked up by someone. That actually doesn't even make sense, to be honest, because if she got it started again she would have just driven it home and the shoes could have been an extra pair of shoes, but the purse most people will not just take off and leave their purse in the car. And that is the giant red flag out of all these other little red flags, for me anyway well.

Speaker 3:

So that goes back to the police officer at that time. If we think that that was a red flag, fast forwarding however many years, you would think that the police officer would pick up on that. That. We have a running car, her purse still in there, her shoes still in there. Somewhere she's running around with no purse and no shoes. Of course we have that added component of think about like a cell phone nowadays. If someone had left their cell phone, it's just like a purse those things would be suspicious. Or if she loses it, she's gonna want it back right away because that's like a lifeline.

Speaker 3:

I feel like at the time that the purse was kind of like a lifeline too. So I'm kind of surprised that the police officer also would think that that's not suspicious. And I guess, as far as the car thing telling from experience of being on the side of the road before and not being able to get the car started, that's where it's like I can't fathom how it would even last that long. Maybe because I have experienced idle cars, overheating or batteries going dead or whatever. Maybe that's just my own issue.

Speaker 2:

Well, definitely, obviously, she's been missing all this time, and I think there was enough red flags. I think there should have been enough red flags to, at the very least, count this as suspicious. I mean, I think the police could have innocently thought that it was an abandoned vehicle, but it's just very, very, very suspicious to me that her purse would be left in there. Why would she have left voluntarily anyway? I mean, the shoes being in the car was strange enough. However, that's something you could explain. Maybe they were not the shoes she had been wearing, but instead an extra pair. Like I said, I just feel like maybe the police were way too quick to assume this was nothing more than an abandoned vehicle.

Speaker 3:

I would totally agree because, yeah, that's our nature to think, oh well, these could have been an extra pair of shoes. I think about a police officer coming on the scene of something like this. He's getting paid to think outside the box a little bit and not just to assume, oh, these could be an extra pair of shoes, just to assume, oh, these could be an extra pair of shoes, Telling that this car has been idle for four hours. I think it would be a little safer to assume there could really be something wrong.

Speaker 2:

A lot of times with a lot of different departments. They're too quick to just brush something off as being unsuspicious. Or you kind of get that a lot with the runaways or technically not runaways, but missing teenagers. In general they're so quick to say, oh, they're probably just a runaway. Well, you can't assume that. How about assume the worst and then hope for the best? So on May 25th 1990 Paige's fiance, steve, was extremely concerned, as he should have been, so he went over to Paige's mother's house to check her voicemail. There was a message from the initial police officer on the scene confirming that the car Paige had been driving that day had in fact been towed and that Paige was missing. When police examined the vehicle, they found several fingerprints and palm prints. However, a match has never been identified on any of the criminal databases. Police interviewed the friend that Paige had met for lunch with that day, as well as her fiancé, stephen Debrabanter. Stephen was interviewed multiple times by authorities but quickly cleared from being a suspect. Times by authorities but quickly cleared from being a suspect.

Speaker 2:

Police conducted an extensive search of the area surrounding Interstate 96, where Page was last seen. Canines were brought in and ended up tracking Page's scent to a nearby field but quickly lost it, suggesting that Page could have been taken somewhere by car. Authorities reopened Page's case in the late 1990s after receiving an anonymous letter with a map enclosed. The letter stated that the information enclosed, quote about page. That may or may not be true. I have tried to verify as much of this information as I could and have found many of the details to be true. Unquote. The letter goes on to state that the map is quote the supposed route taken by her abductors unquote. The letter then ends with quote thank you for your attention to this. Unquote. The letter and the map were placed into the case file.

Speaker 2:

Then, in May 2001, a man whose name had not been made public was named a suspect in Paige's disappearance. He was serving time in a Michigan prison for carjacking. That crime had occurred just a few weeks after Paige went missing, and that victim too was a young woman. Police interviewed the inmate several times and firmly at one point believed that he had been one of the men talking to Paige on the side of the road that day. However, he was quickly eliminated from the suspect list after passing a lie detector test. Suspect list after passing a lie detector test. So I'm certainly not an investigator, but I don't know why I would have ruled him out as a suspect. I would not have ruled him out as a suspect so quickly just because he passed a polygraph test. And I mean, polygraphs are not even considered to be super reliable, so that which is why they don't allow them in court. So why would you completely rule someone out as a suspect whom you were quite certain was somehow connected to Paige's disappearance, just based on the polygraph itself.

Speaker 3:

Well, and I think that that's 2001, right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, may 2001 is when they got the suspect and they seemed pretty certain that he was there, but totally ruled him out once he passed the polygraph. And I'm just that has always confused me. I mean, either you can put a lot of stock in a polygraph test result or you can't. There's definitely not enough reliability to make it admissible in court and actually convict someone of a crime. But on the flip side of that, there's enough reliability that you can completely say well, this test said that this person didn't do it, so they didn't do it. I mean, to me that's kind of like a catch-22.

Speaker 3:

Well, this specifically I think you go back to the time in 2001,. I think that they did put a lot of stock in lie detector tests, a lot more than they do now, and so that's where I wonder if, back then, well, your lie detector test came back saying that he's telling the truth, it must be true, but they didn't look at the other evidence that they had that was making him one of the prime suspects in the first place.

Speaker 2:

Well, yeah, that's true too. I think maybe there was a lot more stock being put into a polygraph back in 2001 versus 2025 now. So I think you know you got a good point with that. I just I just ah, it drives me crazy. It's like if it was me I would have you know, you have to let him go, but at the same point he'd still be very much on the list and he would still be on my radar and he still should be, and maybe he is, maybe he is still on their radar, I wouldn't know, I guess. But no one should be completely eliminated unless you have a lot riding on the fact that they just could not have committed this crime.

Speaker 3:

No, I totally agree. Something that kind of caught my ear a bit too. Is that okay? Just a few weeks later he had got caught for luring a young girl and abducting her, and so that just kind of makes me like think a little bit of how could they have got her to stop? How did they get this other young girl to stop? Definitely, I guess what we've seen since that time, since 1990, is that it's kind of what's came out is that it's usually not an isolated event. So in my thinking this very likely could have been Paige, along with other girls, that he has done that and that he should still be considered a suspect. But right back then, especially with the lie detector test, they really held weight in that. But hopefully there's things that to the public that, oh, they released him as a suspect, but hopefully that they're looking at his pattern as well.

Speaker 2:

In 2009, investigators released information that they had created a list of six possible suspects. One of those suspects, whose name has not been released, had been murdered in 1999. They confirmed that this suspect drove, at one point in time, a burgundy minivan, much like the one described by witnesses. The day of Page's disappearance, in May 2011, investigators searched a pond in Handy Township after a witness made a report of finding a pair of boots near the water that were covered in cement. This discovery was made around the same time as Page's disappearance.

Speaker 2:

Around the same time as Paige's disappearance In November 2011, the FBI, as well as state and local investigators, started digging along the tree-lined driveway of a home in Livingston County, michigan, after cadaver dogs alerted them to the site. An extensive search of the area turned up nothing. The map, an anonymous letter that I had mentioned earlier, is what led investigators to search this area, and I'm not exactly sure why they waited so long to do this my first thought was well, wow, from a you know a murder slap, but possible murder slash disappearance from 1990 and then as late as 2011.

Speaker 3:

So far from what you're saying, that we're still investigating this. Honestly, I was a little surprised because to not have a whole lot of clues and to still be searching, that is surprising, as in this day and age, that it seems like that they just give up so easily, unfortunately. But then, as you say, yes, that brings up the other question. Well, they've had this map for all these many years, and why now? Why haven't they been looking into this earlier?

Speaker 2:

well, it was a late 1990s when they received this map and they ended up, after receiving it, just putting it in the case file. And what happens when you put stuff away in a file, then it gets it either gets lost or it gets forgotten about, and I think that this got forgotten about. This case ran cold and then, when they decided to reopen it, they decided to reopen it when this inmate who was in jail for this carjacking when they thought that he was responsible for this, is when they reopened it. So they reopen it. They go back to the letter and the map and then they decide oh yeah, maybe we should search this area.

Speaker 2:

I found no reports stating that they had gone to this location originally when they received the map and all of this. So, if they did, there's no reports of it that I could find, but something tells me that it just got pushed on the back burner. And so then here we are, 2011, november, so the end of 2011,. When they decide to go search the area, they're not revealing everything that was in the letter, on the map and, unfortunately, when they finally did go search this area, there was nothing. They found nothing. Now, maybe if they had searched earlier they would have found something. It's hard hard to say really, but that's a lot of time that lapsed I feel like obviously too much time.

Speaker 3:

But then and I as far-fetched as it sounds, it almost seems like a confession letter, and what I mean by that is I mean you're describing something of one of the suspects at the time before he was murdered. He drove a maroon van, okay. So where I guess I'm kind of feeling like that is whoever was involved. That's how they gave the map. But then so many years has passed that when the police finally go, look that I mean whether it's washed away. You know the weathering. And so I I mean for that much time to have passed. Now. If they would have took it a little more seriously at the time of the letter, maybe they would have found something. This is true.

Speaker 2:

But unfortunately, by the time they got out there there was nothing to be found. So many people have come forward claiming to have seen her driving west on I-96. One woman in particular claims that she saw Paige at the rest stop kiosk. Two truck drivers also claim to have seen her driving along I-96 that day. Around the time that Paige disappeared, there were multiple incidences of people impersonating police officers that were showing fake badges to motorists in order to get them to stop. Police wonder if this is something that could have happened in Paige's case and although anything is possible at this point, I don't think that really explains the unidentified men, in my opinion, that were parked alongside her on the side of the interstate that day just moments before she goes missing. I mean, I know we can't rule anything out, but those men have something. In my opinion. They have something to do with her disappearance. That just seems like the most plausible explanation at this point.

Speaker 3:

Well, absolutely, and I guess that's what I wonder if, okay, so, were these men showing the fake police officer IDs, getting people to stop and got her to stop? You had mentioned earlier in the story that the person that had seen her on the side of the road with these men and that she was pretty frantic and that she was obviously upset and somebody was trying to comfort her, I picture like a police officer trying to comfort somebody, and who knows whether that was the case, that's how they got her to stop, or other people this has happened to I guess where. To me, okay, I could see them flashing a badge. The person stops and then they abduct.

Speaker 3:

I know it doesn't seem like real plausible, but I don't know. If I was in that position and a police officer was waving their hands or whatever trying to get me to stop, I probably would at first. Now we have so many years and things happening to women on the side of the road, I would probably first think about stopping, but then not. But who knows at that time that? I mean it seems so silly, but 1990, you didn't hear about this as much. So?

Speaker 2:

I just I don't feel that in this case, and the reason why is because they're on the side of the interstate. There's not going to be a police car pulled over. That would probably be the biggest red flag for me. If someone was standing alongside the interstate and the only thing that you had that might indicate that they were a police officer is some badge that you're not going to be able to see very well anyway, because you are driving down the interstate and they're at the side of the road, I wouldn't stop. I don't even think I would have stopped back in 1990 just based on that alone. But then you've got the aspect that there are one to two other males on the side of the road. You've got this burgundy minivan. You know, maybe it'd be a different situation if there was a police car. That would be the biggest thing I would be looking for is a police car on the side of the road.

Speaker 2:

I think this sounds more like maybe it had nothing to do with all those other incidences. Now, the guy that was an inmate that they were thinking had something to do with this. That was a carjacking. That was not necessarily to. Anything that I have come across been a situation where he was luring anybody. I mean that woman could have been at a stoplight or a stop sign and got jacked. I don't know if she got kidnapped or if she got forced out of the vehicle. They didn't elaborate with that, but this just sounds very isolated and I don't think that they were necessarily trying to target Paige. I think they were trying to maybe target anyone that would stop a female in particular. But I mean, I don't know, targeting her on an interstate would have been a huge leap.

Speaker 2:

Since Page's disappearance, more than 25 billboards have been placed along Interstate 96. Livingston County Detective Sergeant Matt Young announced that since the case began, their office has received more than 1,200 tips. Among those, about 40 of them were tips from individuals who reported seeing Paige on the side of the road that day. So there were in fact a lot of people a decent amount of people that saw her on the side of the road with those men and to this day no one is sure as to why Paige was pulled over that afternoon or whether or not she even knew the men whom she was talking to. It is unclear if the men she was speaking with are even involved in her disappearance. However, I feel like they probably are. Her family believes that it's a good possibility that Paige knew at least one of the men and that she would have stopped if she saw someone that she knew on the side of the road. So that is something to consider too. Maybe she did know one of the males.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I could see that, and especially her family. Knowing her best Sounds like Paige was a really caring person.

Speaker 2:

Her family also stated that they don't believe that Paige would have left voluntarily. It was reported that she had deposited a large sum of money in her bank account before her disappearance and that money has remained untouched since she went missing. 33 years after Paige's disappearance, a Michigan State University professor by the name of Dr Jerry Alamit-Zeldes, along with a few of her students from the school's journalism department, became so fascinated with Paige's case that they created a documentary in the hopes of keeping Page's story alive. The 23-minute documentary can be found on YouTube and I will post a link to that on our Facebook page. Despite the fact that no one has been charged in Page's disappearance or the fact that a body has yet to be found, police have ruled this case a homicide. Michigan Crime Stoppers are offering up to a $2,500 cash reward for any information leading to the whereabouts of Paige Wienkoski, and cold case investigators with the Livingston County Sheriff's Department continue to work on the case. A Facebook page was created in her honor, entitled Paige Wienkoski 52490 Never Give Up. Unfortunately, in December 2017, paige's mother artist passed away, never receiving the closure that she has so desperately fought for. On February 2nd 2018, a dual memorial service was held for both Paige and her mother.

Speaker 2:

Paige Rinkoski was 30 years old at the time of her disappearance and would be 64 years old today. Today, she is described as having been five foot six inches tall and weighing approximately 125 pounds at the time of her disappearance. She has blonde hair, blue eyes and surgical scars on the inside of her right arm, as well as both of her knees. She was last seen wearing a white silk shirt with bright silk pants and a long beaded necklace. If you have any information into the disappearance of Paige Wienkoski, please call the Crime Stoppers Anonymous hotline at 1-800 SPEAK-UP, that's 1-800-773-2587, or you can call the Livingston County Sheriff's Office at area code 517-546-2440.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for listening to another episode of Gone in a Blink. If you like our show, please consider giving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, and we'd love for you to follow us on any of our social media sites. Follow us on Facebook, at Gone in a Blink, or on Instagram, at Gone in a Blink Pod, and if you have a suggestion of a case you'd like us to cover, drop us an email at goneinablinkpod at gmailcom. And, as always, please remember be safe, be smart and try not to blink.

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