KALAMAZOO, Mich. — We first introduced you to the Western Michigan University Cold Case Program back in May. Now, we’re getting a close look at one of the cold cases they’re actively working on, and the family hoping to finally get some answers.
“We may not have justice but in some terms we can find the truth,” said James Sanders, who was just 2 years old when his mother, Janis Sanders, was reported missing in July of 1975.
Dr. Ashlyn Kuersten is the director of the WMU Cold Case Program and added that, “Janis Sanders disappeared in the 1970s directly after breaking up with her boyfriend.”
It’s a case like so many others.
“Most of the missing person cases are women and they left behind children and family members who need closure. They can guess, probably, what happened to their mother, sister, loved one but they don’t know exactly what happened,” said Dr. Kuersten.
That’s an aspect which makes the two students assigned to this case even more determined.
Rachel Moore will be a senior this fall and is part of the student team working on the Sanders case.
“We’re in a program that’s not really woman dominated and just knowing that we want justice for her as much as her son or daughter, it’s really special to be working on a case like this,” Moore said.
Not much older than the students now working her case, Janis was 24 years old the last time she was seen in the parking lot of the restaurant where she worked in Niles, about 60 miles from Kalamazoo.
Because he was so young at the time of her disappearance, James told 13 ON YOUR SIDE what he’s been told about who his mother was, saying, “She was a wonderful, kind person, worked as a waitress, single mom of two.”
Janis’ ex-boyfriend was eventually charged with her murder and the murder of another ex-girlfriend. He was acquitted in the other case, and with no body, charges were dropped Janis’ case. Because there was no conviction, that man’s name is not being included in this story. He is now deceased, but Janis’ family feels confident he was responsible for her murder.
“We know who did it. We can’t get justice there but we can – in my mom’s case – we can get her remains back, have a proper burial, have a memorial service, which we’ve never done,” said James.
The focus now is finding Janis’ body with some help from a new source.
Dr. Mine Dogan is an assistant professor of geophysics at WMU. She told 13 ON YOUR SIDE that, “The moment I read the email, I just dropped everything.”
This would be a major change from her typical line of work, studying groundwater pollution from landfills.
“Earth scientists, we always do things that affect human life one way or the other,” said Dr. Dogan.
Plus, she’s got the equipment, which Dr. Dogan seems to take a lot of pride in.
“The drone we have is huge, nothing you can imagine.”
“I had heard that (Dogan) had just been hired here at Western and she had this magical equipment and, oh my gosh, has she ever been a help in this case," said Dr. Kuersten.
“It’s surreal. I didn’t even know devices like this existed and seeing it firsthand and knowing that we’re going in the right direction and taking the right steps to find her, it’s really cool that we get to witness that,” said Moore.
“I didn’t know a program like this existed,” said James as he explained that, “There is a lot of resources out there for families like mine as far as support, advocacy, but nothing like what the CCP does. The CCP is about action, research.”
Set to be a junior at WMU this fall, Ruby Lauria is also working on the Sanders case and talked about the impact of meeting James.
“It just really makes us work harder to get closure for him and his sister.”
Once the case was reopened, James was happy to later hear that Michigan State Police would be getting some extra help from the college cold case program.
“When we found out that they were going to take on the case for my mom it was a gamechanger because there’s over 3,000 documents to look through,” said James, and he also pointed out that, “They’re much younger than I am and to understand their passion for work like this was reassuring and they’re smart. They’re doing the work that is for the greater good.”
His home is in Phoenix, Arizona, but James says he’ll be staying in South Bend, Indiana, with his dad and regularly traveling to West Michigan for the foreseeable future.
“It won’t be over until we do find her and bring her home,” said James.
Students with the WMU Cold Case Program help to organize and even digitize thousands of case file documents to make it easier for the detectives to find the clues they need to solve these cold cases.
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