(WWJ) Nadine Jean O’Dell of Inkster was 16 years old on August 16, 1974, when she disappeared on her way to a babysitting job Downriver.
Now 48 years later, Crime Stoppers of Michigan is renewing its call for tips in the mysterious cold case.
Crime Stoppers says O’Dell was last seen at around 9:30 a.m. that day, walking down John Daly Rd. towards Michigan Ave. in Inkster.
According to the Charley Project, the teen was on her way to babysit at her boyfriend's house in Taylor. Her boyfriend was going to meet her there, but she never arrived. "He came to the house and he was like 'Where's Nadine?' She wasn't there and that is how it all started," the teen's sister, Brenda Lee Handloser, told WDIV-TV.
O'Dell did not return to her home, and no one has heard from her since.
When O'Dell went missing, she was 5'1' tall and weighted around 105 lbs., with long strawberry blonde hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing faded baggy blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and her boyfriend's Taylor High School Class of 1976 ring on a neck chain. The ring is white gold with a blue stone, a ram's head and the number "76" or "1976."
Authorities several years ago released age-progressed photos of the teen showing what she may have looked like as an adult.
While the missing person's case remains open, O'Dell has been listed as a victim of a suspected homicide.
In 2018, authorities announced that Arthur Ream was a possible suspect in O'Dell's case, as well as in the disappearances of as many as five other missing girls.
Ream was convicted of rape in the 1970s; and, in 1986, murdered Cindy Zarzycki, a 13-year-old Eastpointe girl who was dating his son. In 2008, Ream led authorities to Zarzycki's body, which was buried on in a shallow grave near 23 Mile Rd. and the Clinton River in Macomb Township, about 30 miles from Detroit.
While in prison, Ream reportedly told cellmates he was serial killer with four to six victims, according to the Charley Project.
In August of 2019 there was another dig involving local police and the FBI not far from the Macomb Twp. site. And while some clues may have been uncovered, no human remains were found.
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If O'Dell is still alive today, she would be 64 years old.
But speaking to WDIV in 2018, Handloser said she knows her sister is dead. "Nadine wouldn't stay away. She would not have stayed away. She would have came home to my mom," Handloser said, adding: "I want to bring my sister home and lay her to rest. I don't care if it is a bone or a piece of hair, a nail, I don't care, I just want my sister. She is out there somewhere laying in the ground or wherever."
There's a $1,000 reward available through Crime Stoppers in this case. Anyone who has any helpful information is asked to call 1-800-SPEAK-UP (1-800-773-2587), or submit a tip online at 1800speakup.org.
As always, all those who contact Crime Stoppers will stay 100% anonymous. They are not asked to provide their names, and are not required to speak to police or to testify in court.
All rewards are also paid anonymously.
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