For 35 years now, Michele Renkoski-Hollis has carried a weight most can’t comprehend.
On May 24, 1990, Michele’s sister, Paige Renkoski, disappeared without a trace.
This day altered the course of Michele and her family’s lives forever.
“I was 24 when she disappeared,” said Michele. “So, I’ve lived more of my life without her than with her.”
Michele said Paige was funny, beautiful, generous, and quirky.
“Everyone loved her. She had this cool style. She did our hair and makeup when we were younger. She was just genuine,” Michele said.
As the 35th anniversary of Paige’s disappearance approaches, Michele continues to do what her late mother, Ardis, did before her passing in 2017: keep Paige’s memory alive.
“That was the worst,” Michele said. “My dad and my other sister passed last October, and it’s like, let us know something. Give us some kind of sign.”
Over the decades, Michele has become an investigator and advocate, not just for Paige but for others living with the unresolved loss of a loved one.
---> Full interview: Michele Renkoski-Hollis reflects on 35 years since Paige Renkoski’s disappearance
“Tips still come in,” Michele said. “Some are eight-page messages on social media. I thank them and forward everything to the Livingston County Cold Case Team. And it’s amazing that after 35 years, people are still talking, still remembering.”
The Day Paige Went Missing: May 24, 1990
Paige was 30 years old when she disappeared. At the time, she lived with her fiancé, Steve, in DeWitt.
That day, she was on her way to Steve’s softball game, reportedly coming from the Canton area, but she made it as far as the Fowlerville exit on I-96.
According to investigators, on the morning of May 24, 1990, around 11:30 a.m., Paige dropped their mother at the airport.
Then, around 2 p.m., she had a picnic at Griffin Park in Canton with a friend and her children.
After that, around 2:30 p.m., she stopped at a party store, also in Canton, and purchased a magazine and a beer.
Then, she headed west on I-96 to attend her fiancé’s softball game. She never made it.
Why did Paige pull over?
“At around 3 p.m., she pulled over just 50 yards before the Fowlerville exit,” Michele said. “There was nothing wrong with her car. It’s mind-boggling. Why would she stop?”
That’s been the haunting question for three and a half decades. Some witnesses said Paige was seen talking to two African American men beside a maroon van, and some said one.
One witness also reportedly told police Paige appeared to be upset.
Michele said she just could not understand why her sister would pull over in the first place.
Michele said Paige was not known to pull over for a stranger, even if someone staged an accident. Was it someone she knew?
Since the case began, a working theory has been that someone got Paige to pull over by showing her a police badge—real or fake.
“It’s the big question—how did someone get her to pull over? The only thing that makes sense is someone pretending to be law enforcement — flashing a badge,” Michele said. “She would’ve never picked up a hitchhiker. And if something was wrong, why not just get off at the exit? From day one, that’s been the story,” Michelle said.
Paige’s car is found running with her belongings inside
Investigators later found Paige’s silver 2-door 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass she had been driving on the side of I-96 near the Fowlerville exit at 7:48 p.m. that same day.
The car was running, and the windshield wipers were on due to a rainstorm. Her shoes, purse, and the beer and magazine she purchased were inside the vehicle.
Investigators also said the gas tank was full, and her car appeared to have no mechanical issues.
The headlights were also still on. It has been reported that no blood was found in the car, but investigators did recover palm prints and fingerprints.
Tips and Leads Over the Decades
Over the years, numerous tips and theories have surfaced. One lead involved a hand-drawn note and map leading police into a wooded area near where Paige went missing. That lead did not pan out.
Another lead came in 1999, and it is known as the “red herring letter.” It was anonymously sent to a Michigan State Police Sergeant.
It states, “This may be a red herring; however, I have recently come across some information about Paige Renkoski that may or may not be true.”
This led investigators to a rural area in Conway Township that had already been searched but was searched again.
“We were super hopeful,” Michele said. “It was specific — extremely specific. But nothing. And that happens a lot. Very credible-sounding stories that go nowhere.”
Still, Michele and her family keep hope alive, even though “It is exhausting.”
“It comes in waves. Tips get you thinking again, talking to the cold case team, trying to piece things together,” Michele said. “I always say every tip is 50-50 — it’s either something or it’s nothing.”
One possible connection that has resurfaced is 69-year-old Buster Robbins, a man who the prosecutor said had his pilot’s license and who the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office confirms to Local 4 was a reserve officer for its mounted unit at least from 1988-1989.
Unfortunately, due to how much time had passed, they were unable to provide further details.
“There were definite similarities between Paige’s case and Beverly Wivell’s: the same park, the car left running, ID, and money left behind. Beverly was murdered about eight or nine months before Paige disappeared,” Michele said. “I don’t know.”
Could there be a connection?
Beverly Wivell was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered in Washtenaw County.
She was found shot and killed on the side of the road in Superior Township in September 1989.
The Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office said Wivell was sleeping in her vehicle in Canton Township‘s Griffin Park after dropping her son off at school when they believe she was abducted from her car, sexually assaulted, and shot before being left on the side of the road.
Later that night, her vehicle was discovered in Canton Township still running.
Police said her driver’s door was wide open, and her purse was still inside.
DNA taken from a rape kit completed in 1989 was sent in for forensic genealogy testing in 2024.
According to court documents, that DNA was linked to 69-year-old Robbins of Almont.
Robbins was charged with the murder of Wivell. And while on March 18, 2025, a judge declined to send him to trial due to insufficient evidence, he could now head to trial.
On May 22, 2025, Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Jinan Hamood determined the case should be sent back to district court to bind Robbins over for trial.
The judge agreed with prosecutors, labeling Robbins a flight risk and previously giving him a $5 million bond.
The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office said this week that the Paige Renkoski case remains open and that Robbins is a person of interest in her disappearance.
They said they are working closely with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office to explore potential connections to the case.
Robbins, according to prosecutors, is also being investigated in at least two more investigations – one involving child sexually abusive material allegedly found on his cell phone and another involving sexual assault allegations from his now estranged wife.
Do you know something?
Michele hopes that someone — anyone — will come forward.
“Even if the person who did it is deceased, someone else knows. A niece, a nephew, a neighbor. Someone,” Michele said. “How do you hold a secret like that for 35 years?”
She gets angry and tired, but she doesn’t give up. She also continues attending the annual Missing in Michigan event.
“It’s a club you don’t want to join,” Michele said. “But that connection -- with families going through the same thing — it’s invaluable. We can share what worked and what didn’t.”
While Paige’s case has received significant media attention, Michele knows many families don’t get the same support.
After 35 years, Michele is still here, still asking, still searching, and still believing. She vows to help other families find answers, too.