Putnam: Dual memorial planned for Ardis Renkoski and daughter Paige, missing since 1990

OKEMOS – Before the end of her life, Ardis Renkoski’s final wish was to learn what became of her 30-year-old daughter Paige, who went missing in broad daylight on the side of I-96 near Fowlerville in 1990.

Renkoski, 84, of Okemos, died Wednesday with Paige’s disappearance still unsolved. A dual memorial service for Renkoski and her missing daughter will be held Feb. 2, on what would be Paige’s 58th birthday.

“We never really had a formal service for Paige other than a family memorial on her birthday every year,” said Michele “Missi” Renkoski-Hollis of Okemos, one of Renkoski’s four daughters. “We’ve never had closure ... My mom really wanted that.”

Hollis said Renkoski’s family has faith that in death, she's now reunited with her daughter. They also believe she has solved the riddle that’s dogged the family for nearly three decades: What happened to Paige?

“I think she knows everything now. That’s my feeling. My mom knows everything that’s possible to know about Paige and what happened. We’re hoping she’ll send us a sign,” Hollis said.

On May 24, 1990, Paige Renkoski dropped her mother off at the Detroit airport in the morning, visited a friend, and stopped at a convenience store before apparently heading back to Lansing. Her car was found still running along I-96 just east of the Fowlerville exit. Her purse and shoes were still inside.

Witnesses reported seeing a burgundy minivan and one or two men speaking with her along the highway.

Theories are that she was stopped by someone impersonating an officer or stopped because of a staged accident. There was slight damage to the Cutlass Calais she was driving that belonged to her mother’s employer.

More: Renkoski cold case: 'Someone out there' does know

Six months later, an anonymous tipster sent a map that purported to pinpoint the young woman’s remains. Searchers looked in 1990 and again in 2011 without any results.

Ardis Renkoski had a career in human resources for General Motors. After her daughter’s disappearance, Renkoski became known as an advocate for other victims’ families and a liaison to law enforcement.

Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Sarah Krebs, who runs the state police's missing persons unit, said Renkoski was instrumental in the success of Missing in Michigan, which holds a memorial each May for missing people.

Since 2011, families and law enforcement attend the event, and DNA is collected from family members to help locate their loved ones.

Krebs said Renkoski was on the board of Missing in Michigan. In the future, there will be a spot for a family member because of her effectiveness.

“Ardis was one of the most gracious and classy women I’ve ever met. She was the person I would look to if I had a family who needed someone to talk to regarding their missing loved one,” Krebs recalled. “I could always turn to Ardis. She never minded being that person to have a shoulder to cry on.
 

Renkoski was given the group’s first Michigan State Police Missing in Michigan Advocate of the Year in 2015. It’s now renamed the Ardis Renkoski Advocate of the Year award.

Renkoski had been paralyzed since a June fall down the basement stairs. Her health was good until then, her daughter, Michele Hollis said.

Besides Michele Hollis of Okemos, Renkoski is survived by her daughters, Tami Renkoski of Allegan, and Sheril Martin of Atlanta, Georgia, five grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and two sisters.

 “I’m blessed,” Ardis Renkoski said in a 2011 interview. “I made a decision a long time ago this would not destroy me, and it’s a decision I think you make because it can. I decided I would be no good to my family on anyone if I let it destroy me.

"I’ve turned it into a path for advocacy, and I’m not focusing on what someone did to my beautiful daughter.”

Krebs said the search for Paige Renkoski will continue.

“The search will go on. We won’t let it die. We’re always going to be looking for her,” she said.

Judy Putnam is a columnist with the Lansing State Journal. Contact her at (517) 267-1304 or at jputnam@lsj.com. Follow her on twitter @judyputnam.