Fifteen-year-old Kathy Sue Wilcox left her Otsego home in July 17, 1972. Despite some reports of her being seen in the area shortly thereafter, she has never been back. Police classified her as a runaway. They investigated, but came up with no solid leads. And Kathy Sue’s fate is still unknown. Interim Editor Dan Pepper of the Allegan News has researched the story and brings us this report.
If ever a law enforcement career ended on a high note, it is Dave Blakely’s. On Monday he was in court for the sentencing of Ryan Wyngarden for the 1987 murder of his sister and brother-in-law, Gail and Rick Brink. That was a case he co-led to prosecution. On Friday, he was center stage at the conclusion of his 26-plus year career in local enforcement and investigation with Ottawa County.
These are the publicly recognized members of the investigation and prosecutorial team that successfully brought murder charges against Ryan Wyngarden. From Left: Doug Mesman, Ottawa County Chief Assistant Prosecutor, Detectives Dave Blakely and Venus Repper, Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department, and Lee Fisher, Ottawa County Senior Prosecuting Attorney and Holland Division Chief. There are many others, too, who worked behind the scenes, administrators and staffers. The event was Dave Blakely’s retirement celebration March 25, 2014.
There was a good deal of comment on that career from former and current colleagues and even his son, Peyton. Many alluded to his rambling stories and commentary, something even Blakely has called his “rabbit hunting.” They described many humorous situations. No one pretend that he was tractable or fussily perfect. But what came up again and again on the “absolute” side of the ledger were two things inextricably entwined: Blakely’s devotion to justice, and his devotion to his faith.
Randy Wassink, who studied with Blakely at Ferris State University and later convinced him to leave a law enforcement job in Texas and return to Michigan, said throughout Blakely’s career “he led with his heart.”
Rudy Mascorro, who retired from the Holland Police Department, described the work of investigating crime as  “going down the hole in the toilet,” working in the sewers, coming back up to daylight at the end of shift, and then trying to shower off all the accumulated crud. Blakely, he said, saw and shared “a bigger purpose to what we do. I tried to keep that before me.” It allowed  Mascorro to not only do the work before him, but to do so with equanimity.
John Kruithoff, retired chief of the Holland Police Department, said that he and Blakely were drawn together by friendship and faith. In fact, Blakely years ago described Kruithoff as his prayer and accountability partner.
After gently ragging on his father, son Peyton, brought out Dave’s old trench coat, noting its wear and patches. He rarely saw his father without the coat, noting it was emblematic of the wear and tear on his father, “the sacrifice and hard work he put into the community. I have pride for that coat and pride in what you’ve done.”
Venus Repper, his co-investigator on cold cases since 2009, described his unconventional but dedicated and solid police work. Dave’s, wife, Julie, brought forward and read a citation from Governor Rick Snyder. There was a check from the union, presented by Bob Wittum. And the brass had some good words, to say, too…Captain Mark Bennet and Sheriff Gary Rosema. Rosema suggested that Blakely’s children sometime look over their father’s career jacket as a model for an amazing career. He joked that were good things in it, too; it was clear that the retiring detective was not one to go along to get along. Blakely, he said, is “unique” in his abilities to get into a suspect’s mind and to grow close to victims and their families.
Finally it was Blakely’s turn. First he asked everybody to come into the room; there were a couple dozen friends who had been standing in the hallways, not wanting to crowd the room. But he asked them to come in. He spent a few moments making eye contact with some and welcoming specific old friends. He started with some jokes, giving as good as he got. The substantive part though, was his gratitude:
“Dave Blakely is just a guy…who was surrounded by really good people.”
Blakely alluded to his sports activities as a child and youth. There had been a lot of teams; he was on the wrestling team, the football team, and others. And there have been two teams in his career that have allowed him to function.
“In the past 26 and half years I’ve been surrounded by some really great people…I have never been so proud to serve with the men and women of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department.”
He singled out several, mentioning especially his partner Venus Repper: “The best partner.”
The members at that team helped him to work and solve cases. Of his last, “for both the Brink and–to an extent–the Wyngarden families,” that team support led to answers and a chance “for the families and the community to begin to heal.”
That was Team Two.
Then there was Team One: “If you want to see the best of Dave Blakely, I need the other team to come up and stand by me.” And he invited his family to join him.
Team One, from left: son Peyton, son-in-law and daughter Bryant and Hannah Greenert, son-in-law and daughter Gerald and Bekah TenBrink, Blakely, and wife, Julie (whom he’s known since seventh grade).
He thanked them for all their sacrifices and support.
Of his work, he said, what he and other officers long for is doing the work of justice well enough that they might be accorded the same recognition offered in Matthew 25:23: “Well done good and faithful servant.”
In my most recent post I wrote dismissing the idea of closure in the solution of a murder case. I had to go back and eat those words; excising them from the post. I was writing about the now-solved murders of Gail and Rick Brink.
In reporting on the sentencing, Fox 17 news said the Brink family described the investigation, the arrest of Ryan Wyngarden, his prosecution, guilty verdict, and sentencing as closure. They have the authority to say whether a matter is closed or not, as do the innocent in the Wyngarden family, and the prosecution team. I do not. They have lived this. I apologize.
Cold cases continue to be solved. The sentence of Ryan Wyngarden for the murder of his sister and brother-in-law, Gail and Rick Brink, puts an exclamation point on the guilty verdict. Here’s the Grand Rapids Press account by John Agar. What a long road this has been and how good to have answers.
And as he promised, Ottawa County Sheriff Detective Dave Blakely kept on the case–with co-investigator Det.Venus Repper–and did not retire before they brought this case to its conclusion. He told me several years ago this was his case to finish before he left. Det. Blakely is retiring this spring. This is his last week on the job. Thank you, Dave. Thank you, Venus.
We are working at the best of our ability to try to tell the story of the June 11, 1990, murder of Christopher Joel Battaglia in Grand Rapids. Videographer Phil Blauw and I are well along on the interviews, but there are a few crucial ones to go. And there is much to be done, converting old 8 mm film to video, securing permissions to use television news clips, a hundred and more things to fall into place, including a place to show the film June 11th, the 24th anniversary of his murder.
We first chronicled this case in our We Remember in 2009 and over the years we have waited for the right time. we think it’s now. The case recently came back from the Kent Metro Cold Case Team to the Grand Rapids Police Department.
We need help, we needs leads, we need your prayerful support. One of the things that has happened so far has never happened before. Someone close to the story asked us where the money came from to do the project. I explained that we never charge families; these were mostly back-pocket productions, done on our time and with our equipment. What has happened since is beyond any expectation: we’ve been receiving donations from those who were/are close to Joel and his family. These gifts are unexpected, unsought, but deeply appreciated; this will help us with hard costs on the project. We are humbled and grateful.
Onward.
Oh, and if you have leads, here is my e-mail, the simpler version: David Schock.