WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — Nov. 1, 2022 started like many days for 18-year-old Kane Coronado. He was doing what he loved: riding his bike. 

“He was just wheeling everywhere,” his friend, 35-year-old Christopher Abella, recalled. “He could swerve anything, wheelie for the longest, dropping his hand. He was good.” 

Abella met Coronado as he helped start Big Rippers 616, a local street biking group. 

“It kept them kids out of trouble, you know?” Abella said. “They weren’t in the streets. They weren’t doing drugs. They were mainly focused on their bike.” 

Coronado was at Abella’s house on that November afternoon. Coronado planned on riding his bike for an hour before returning to his White Cloud home, Abella recalled. 

So Coronado rode to Indian Mounds Drive, a popular route through the woods tucked between the Grand River and I-196.

Later that afternoon, Abella learned through a group chat with his friends that something was wrong. 

“All of us got on our bikes and rode to the Kent trails and everything was blocked off,” Abella recalled. “Just horrible. We all felt it, we knew what was up.” 

Coronado was shot in the neck and killed while riding his bike. 

The day after the killing, Coronado’s friends and family gathered where he died to lay candles in his honor. Coronado’s grandmother, Tonya Ferguson, was among them. 

“Somebody’s got to be a monster just to be able to shoot somebody and leave them laying and drive away,” Ferguson told News 8. 

One year later, a memorial lies where Coronado’s life was tragically cut short. 

Jennifer Reynolds, the executive director of Silent Observer, said Wednesday that Coronado’s life was “full of endless possibilities” at just 18 years old. 

“Any of those possibilities were snuffed out when he was shot while doing the most innocent of activities: riding his bike,” Reynolds said. 

To this day, police can’t say definitively if the killing was random or targeted. But lead investigator Dan Patterson said Wednesday they’ve followed up on every lead suggesting he may have been killed by someone he knew, and they have not found any evidence of retaliation. 

One of the problems in breaking this case open is that Indian Mounds Drive is a rural area. Police won’t find security cameras on businesses or doorbell cameras there.  

“It certainly makes it a lot more difficult to find those leads on these cases,” Wyoming Police Department Lt. Rory Allen told News 8 in January. 

But there was a witness who helped police come up with a sketch of the suspect. 

In March, police said a witness described the suspect as a white man around the age of 30. He was described as having a medium build and with a brown or gray scruffy beard. 

Police previously released a possible vehicle description. The witness saw the suspect drive toward Market Avenue and then toward I-196 in a grey sedan, possibly in a model between the years 2000 and 2005. Police said the vehicle could be similar to the body style of a 2005 Chevy Cavalier. 

On Wednesday, police cautioned that the suspect may have changed their appearance or gotten rid of the vehicle since the shooting.

In the year since Coronado’s killing, police have followed up on more than 40 tips through Silent Observer.

“We have a lot,” Patterson said. “We’re just at that point where we haven’t been able to turn any of the tips we’ve gotten into a solid lead, but we’ve been able to rule out quite a bit though.”

Silent Observer is offering a $5,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. Police said any tip can make a big difference, even if you think it’s small. 

Abella said the biking group has never been the same since Coronado was killed.

“We’ve kinda been falling apart,” Abella said. “Ever since he’s been gone, the group’s took a hit, you know? Everybody’s trying to get their feelings together.” 

Abella said Big Rippers 616 is riding together on Wednesday to honor Coronado. 

“We’re all just praying and hoping they can close this case and find answers for us,” Abella said. “Hopefully someone comes forward soon. How can you live with this?” 

Police say they’re not giving up in the search to find justice for Coronado.

“We know that his community cares very deeply about this,” Patterson said. “I just want to assure them that we do too. We’re working as hard as we can.” 

If you know anything about the killing of Kane Coronado, please contact Wyoming police at 616.530.7300 or Silent Observer at 616.774.2345, 1.866.774.2345 or https://www.silentobserver.org.