Reward, new clues in Deanie Peters case

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Investigators trying again to solve the 1981 disappearance of 14-year-old Deanie Peters say they have learned that the girl was involved in an altercation a few days before she vanished, and want to talk to any witnesses.

The physical altercation involved other students and happened at the school, according to detectives.

The Metro Cold Case unit hopes a newly offered reward from a private individual will help loosen lips.

"There is now a $25,000 cash reward for information that leads us to the location of Deanie Peters' body and information that leads us to those individuals that are responsible for her death," Detective and Sgt. Sally Wolter said.

In a news conference Thursday, investigators say they have excavated all the rumored sites where people said Peters might have been buried, interviewed hundreds of people and traveled to seven states to do that.

The unit financed by a federal grant has had five detectives on it for 16 months.

The teenager vanished from Forest Hills Central Middle School while attending her brother's wrestling practice in February 1981.

The head of the Cold Case team said just the announcement that there would be a news conference Thursday has resulted in more calls coming in, indicating a high public interest in the case decades later.

If you have information about Peters' disappearance, you are asked to call the Cold Case team at (616) 632-6123.