Decades-old cold case could be close to being closed

An extensive search through a Michigan property may soon mark the end of a 50-year-old cold case. 

Michigan State Police executed a search warrant on a Buchanan property, Thursday and Friday, looking for the remains of Janis Sanders; a Niles woman who went missing in 1975. MSP Would not confirm whether any sign of Sanders was found. 

But if police are able to prove who killed Janis Sanders, it won't mark the end of a decades-long mystery. 

Her children, James and Dena Sanders, believe they know who killed their mother. The MSP search is focused on the former property of Gerald Libertowski, Janis’ ex-boyfriend. Libertowski is the lone suspect in her disappearance, which is now being investigated as a homicide. 

“Because she’s never been found, we deal with the loss of our mother. But then we deal with the unknown,” James said. 

The question the siblings still need to answer is what to do with her remains. 

“Shes been gone a long time. And not knowing where she's at has been probably the hardest thing,” Dena said. 

What’s led investigators to this point, in part, is a unique collaboration between police and a team of teenagers, teachers, and undergrads who are exploring questions that have gone unanswered. 

The Western Michigan University Cold Case Program uses students to help MSP investigate cold case homicides. The group affectionately calls itself the ‘Scooby Gang’. 

“There’s kind of a learning curve sometimes in that you're looking backwards in time and figuring out how investigations used to be while figuring out how investigations are now,” student and program coordinator McKenzie Stonemen said. 

But it’s real-world cases with real-world consequences. 

“We are seeing the underbelly of society,” Program Director Dr. Ashlyn Kuersten said. 

The WMU program is the first of its kind. Kuersten spent the Fall traveling across the country, showing other universities how the program could be replicated. In its first investigation, WMU students helped solve the 1987 murder of Roxanne Wood in Niles. 

“It’s gritty, and it’s nasty, and sometimes you have to walk away from these files because it’s unnerving. But that's the world we live in,” Kuersten said. 

Students sort through thousands of documents by hand, reviewing reports, and digitizing paperwork. Something most investigators just don't have the time to do. 

“It’s a lot of note taking, a lot of computer work, a lot of scanning and printing,” Senior Savanna Dempsey said. 

The WMU team has helped MSP reopen the Janis Sanders investigation. Because Libertowski died years ago, even if police can prove the murder there likely will not be a prosecution. But the investigation still hopes to lead to Janis’ remains. Then, Janis can be put to rest, and James and Dena can find closure. 

“I think it will change my sister and I’s reality,” James said. “We’re no longer the kids with the missing mom. We’ll finally have the closure and the truth. And how that will feel, I don't know.”