Sheriff’s Office heats up 2 cold cases

Sanilac County Sheriff Garry Biniecki. The Sanilac County Sheriff’s Office is taking a fresh look into two cold case files involving two local men, a stepson and stepfather, both believed to have met their fates by foul play in separate incidents, spanning a time period of almost 34 years.

The first case involves Douglas Donald Hendrick, also known as Douglas D. Bowers, who was found dead in Lexington in 1973; the second case involves his stepfather, Douglas Gene Bowers, who disappeared in 1997 and has not been found.

“There have been a lot of changes in forensics and evidence,” said Sanilac Sheriff Garry Biniecki. “We hope that something new may develop out of it. With the start of this reinvestigation, there already has been some information revealed not previously known.”

The first case occurred on Aug. 27, 1973, when the Sanilac County Sheriff office received a 4:45 a.m. call from George “Richard” Spangenberg, a local milk truck driver.

He reported that a subject was lying on the sidewalk in front of the Cadillac House Hotel in Lexington. The Lexington Police Department was dispatched and found 19- year-old Hendrick lying face down in a pool of blood.

An investigation led by Chief Al Young of the Lexington Police Department theorized that Hendrick had been thrown from the roof of the Cadillac House.

But in his report, the Sanilac Coroner wrote that Hendrick had suffered extensive skull fracture with hemorrhage that could have been caused either by accident or homicide.

Questions remain as to why Hendrick was on the hotel roof and whether he jumped, fell, was pushed or thrown off of it, Biniecki said.

Hendrick, who also sometimes went by his stepfather’s last name of Bower, was a resident of the Lexington area at the time of his death. He was employed at the Barn Restaurant in Lexington and was a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

He left a widow, Janice Hendrick, an infant daughter, his mother, Mary Bowers, and stepfather Douglas Bowers, all of Lexington.

Mary Bowers passed away in February 1997.

Later that same year, on Nov. 20, 1997, Sanilac Deputy Eric Stevens was dispatched to the Worth Township area to meet with a friend of Douglas Bowers. Bowers was part owner of Waylon’s Road Haus, 7285 S. Lakeshore Rd., Worth Township.

The complainant stated Bowers had not been heard from or seen for six days and had left his dog alone, which was unheard of.

Less than three weeks later, on Dec. 8, 1997, the St. Clair County Sheriff Department located Douglas Bowers’ vehicle in the parking lot of the Meijer store in Fort Gratiot. The Michigan State Police at the time processed a small amount of blood found in the 1985 Buick Electra station wagon.

Biniecki said the sheriff department has requested the blood be reprocessed using new methods, which could take up to nine months.

“To my knowledge, it was not determined at the time whose blood it was,” he said.

Cold case investigations are difficult because information can get lost over time, including hand-written notes from the original investigators. Family members, possible witnesses, and potential suspects may have died or moved away.

On the other hand, the passage of time might make people "willing to talk," said Biniecki.

The department has already received "three or four calls" that "may be the break we need," the sheriff stated.

"We're re-interviewing, and questionaires have been sent out (to friends and relatives of the victims, and witnesses and possible witnesses)."

He added, "We've already received some possible information from the questionaires that might shed some light."

Biniecki is hoping his department, which is working with Lexington police, can determine once and for all if there was foul play in the two cases, find the responsible parties and "bring closure" to the families.

Anyone with possible information regarding these cases is asked to contact Deputy Nathan Smith at the Sanilac County Sheriff ’s Office, 810-648-5636, or email nsmith@sanilaccounty.net.

You also may contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800- SPEAK UP or online at www.1800speakup.org. Or text CSM and your tip to 274637 or CRIMES.

An award of up to $1000 will be given for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspects involved in these unsolved cases.