Account
Apr 30, 2013
Jun 14, 2023
Jessica
Heeringa
37
25
61 inches
100 lbs
110 lbs
White / Caucasian
Female
On the night of April 26, 2013, 25-year-old Jessica Heeringa was working the late shift alone at an Exxon gas station in Norton Shores, Michigan, when she vanished shortly before closing time. A customer arrived at 11:07 p.m. to find the station unattended and called for help. Investigators discovered Heeringa's personal belongings, including her purse with over $400 in cash, her coat, and her car, left behind at the scene, suggesting a robbery had not occurred. A small drop of her blood was found on the ground near the back door of the station, indicating a struggle may have taken place. With no security cameras at the gas station, the investigation initially relied on witness accounts, including one of a man seen in a silver minivan who had been described as "flirty" with Heeringa earlier that evening. For three years, the case remained a frustrating mystery with thousands of tips leading nowhere. The breakthrough came in 2016 with the attempted kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl who bravely escaped from a silver minivan. This incident led police to Jeffrey Willis, a local factory worker. A search of Willis's vehicle and computer uncovered deeply disturbing materials, including a folder labeled "vics" which contained photos and information about Heeringa. The investigation also connected Willis to the 2014 murder of Rebekah Bletsch, a jogger who had been shot and killed. Evidence against Willis in Heeringa's case was largely circumstantial but compelling, including parts of a firearm found at the gas station that matched a gun found in his van. In May 2018, after a trial that presented evidence linking him to both Heeringa's disappearance and Bletsch's murder, a jury found Jeffrey Willis guilty of the kidnapping and first-degree murder of Jessica Heeringa. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Willis's cousin, Kevin Bluhm, later admitted to helping dispose of Heeringa's body, though his accounts of the location were inconsistent and did not lead to her recovery. To this day, despite the conviction and the efforts of law enforcement, Jessica Heeringa's remains have never been found, leaving her family and community without the closure of bringing her home for a final rest. The case stands as a somber reminder of a life taken too soon and the lingering pain of an unresolved loss, as the search for Jessica continues in the hopes of one day providing her with a proper burial.
Apr 26, 2013
Norton Shores
Michigan
Muskegon County
No
13477
Norton Shores Police Department
Norton Shores
Michigan
Muskegon County
49441
4814 Henry Street, Michigan
2317332691
Local
Law Enforcement
13-2569
2013-04-26
Norton Shores Police Department
Blond/Strawberry
Blue
Blue
05/29/2026
