The missing diary of Deanie Peters

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The former lead detective in the 1981 disappearance of 14-year-old Deanie Peters says a potentially key piece of evidence -- Deanie's diary -- is missing.

He also says that the man he believes was the lead suspect -- a former Lowell man who later moved to Kentucky -- died two years ago before cold-case detectives got a chance to interview him.

Former Kent County Sheriff's Sgt. Kenneth Kleinheksel, who has continued to work on the case even in his retirement, says the State Police cold-case team obtained a subpoena about a year ago forcing him to testify before a Kent County judge about the investigation and the whereabouts of the diary.

"I don't know what happened to it," he told 24 Hour News 8 Wednesday.

The diary could play a key role based on the cold-case team's theory: That a confrontation with classmates at Forest Hills Central Middle School somehow led to her disappearance and death. Deanie Peters was an 8th-grader there and disappeared on Feb.5, 1981, during her brother's school wrestling match.

Kleinheksel said he had possession of the diary and read it over and over during his investigation. Deanie kept a detailed diary, writing about parties and boyfriends, but she suddenly stopped making entries about three weeks before she disappeared, Kleinheksel said.

"They were hoping they might find a new clue, which would be possible," he said of the cold case team. "But we studied that diary very closely and found nothing in there."

However, he didn't know about the confrontation at the time, he said.

He testified that he recalled giving the diary at some point to Deanie Peter's mother, Mary Peters, who now lives in Arizona, he says. But Mary Peters doesn't have it and doesn't recall getting it, Kleinheksel said.

Kleinheksel said the original investigation was mired by poor communication -- including detectives who conducted interviews but didn't turn over their reports to him. He was working at the time as a juvenile missing person detective, he said.

A woman who identified herself as one of Deanie's best friends told 24 Hour News 8 that she told a detective within days of the disappearance that Deanie had had a confrontation with two girls over a boy. Kleinheksel said he never saw a report on that interview.

"We had hundreds of tips; we had hundreds of leads, and there was a lack of communication. Yes, there was. I'm not pointing fingers to anybody, but we never got that information to follow up on."

He said he didn't learn about the alleged confrontation until about four years ago, when he was working the case as a private detective.

He said he has provided that information to cold-case detectives.

Kleinheksel says he believes one of the girls who confronted Deanie had a boyfriend who lived in Lowell. It is that man he believes is a lead suspect in the case. He died, apparently of natural causes, in February 2008, he said.

"I know we made mistakes back in those days," Kleinheksel said. "We had limited resources, but we didn't find her, and I feel bad about that. I really do. I want to find her."

An anonymous donor has put up $25,000 to anyone who provides information leading to the discovery of her body and to those who were involved in her death.

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