DNA testing continues to evolve. Announced today:

https://www.wvnews.com/verogen-debuts-forensic-genetic-genealogy-workflow-that-makes-solving-cases-easier/article_f27b116b-8264-5532-bb9b-5b554d92e8ec.html

There is a Zoom book discussion of Marney Keenan’s book, The Snow Killings: Inside the Oakland County Child Killer Investigation, through the Huntington Woods Public Library on Wednesday night, February 17, 7-8:30 p.m. EST. Sign up online at https://huntington-woods.libcal.com/calendar/events/?cid=5112&t=d&d=0000-00-00&cal=5112&inc=0.

Another virtual book talk is scheduled for Thursday, February 18 at 7 p.m. EST through the Royal Oak Public Library. Sign up via a link at this page: https://huntington-woods.libcal.com/calendar/events/?cid=5112&t=d&d=0000-00-00&cal=5112&inc=0.

From a reader:

My name is X and I have been haunted by the unspeakable horror of the OCCK crimes and law enforcement’s subsequent inability and/or unwillingness to officially solve the case for over forty years.  A near miss in my own front yard around 1977/1978 in Franklin, Michigan only served to solidify my terror and fear that I easily could have been another victim. The Franklin police basically dismissed us when we called immediately after the incident because I did not get a license plate (I was 8 years old).  

. . .

While at my first job I attempted to garner interest in this unsolved case as the possible basis for a TV movie.  I was told that I needed more source material to flesh out a narrative to “pitch” as I only had a collection of old newspaper articles and possibly McIntyre’s book.  In 1993 I cold called retired LT. Robert H. Robertson to see if he would share any information or insight to further my efforts.  Shortly thereafter I received a package from him with a sampling of the content from his personal files with handwritten notes and comments. I recall that Robertson said his files were all in his garage.

Robertson’s material seemed appropriately sanitized and was helpful for my purposes of preparing a more detailed treatment/story.  Despite my best efforts to get the story from page to screen over the course of my career in entertainment, I failed to ever get this project launched. At the time no one would touch a serial child murder story with no resolution.

Consequently, Robertson’s package has languished in my file cabinet. . . . I just pulled it out to review after reading Marney’s excellent account of the investigation and your revelatory blog posts. In the context of what is now known, I can’t help but ask if it’s possible that anything here might be useful. Is it even remotely possible that any of this information wasn’t released long ago or disseminated in FOIA documents? I have no idea but I cringe at the thought that I was potentially granted more access to information than the victims’ families. I really hope that I am wrong. 

CONTENTS: 
Handwritten cover letter.
A typed transcript of Robertson’s final in a series of tapes re: the Oakland County Task Force.  He claims to have made many tapes covering many topics and lists examples.
Robertson’s log for first day of task force after Tim’s abduction (these look original-his note says he has a log for each day of the task force).
Copies of pages from Robertson’s notebook for May 17th, May 31st and June 16th, 1977.
A Psych profile from Nicholas Groth, Ph.D/Connecticut Correction Institution.
LEAA-Police Tech. Assistance Report.
ESP File -summary of the case work with psychic Philip Jordan including composite sketches from his visit to Detroit August 1977.
Project Anniversary notes.
Misc. Press releases and WANTED flyers.
Note to Interpol.
Letter from Sheriff’s Office in Yreka, CA re: unsolved child murder/asking if there are similarities to OCCK case.
Chronological Order of Events.
Robertson Synopsis of Special Oakland County Task Force sent to MSP.

NOTE: There’s no mention of Busch anywhere.  But Richard Lawson’s name is written on Robertson’s log from Tuesday May 17th 1977.  
Also he has a note from May 31st 1977 about Belcher/Gill Road incident and failure to show up for a polygraph. Dyer surveillance also noted.
Robertson’s transcript from his own tapes reveals that Birmingham Police erased the tapes of incoming phone calls on March 16, 17, 18, 19th etc. so all of those tips/info was lost. WTF!!!
In the ESP file the psychic mentions a lot of weird stuff.  One impression he “sees” is string art on the wall of the killer(s) apartment.  This was a full month before the John McKinney murder and the fiber art piece by Jane Knight disappeared from his gallery. 

The “citizen science” project described in my last post is a collaboration with Dr. Kathleen Moore and Dylan Lightfoot. To read a little about Dylan, I cannot say it better than Marney Keenan did, so please see https://www.marneyrichkeenan.com/post/the-occk-investigation-timeline. Dr. Moore is a professor of Intelligence Analysis, has a PhD in Information Sciences and specializes in cyber intelligence. Her expertise is used to answer complex, real world problems.

Both Lightfoot and Moore were personally impacted by the OCCK crimes. This project, based on documents and research provided by author and retired Detroit News author Marney Keenan and me, is predicated on the hope that information used to empower everyday citizens in research outside of formalized institutions may help build a case here and/or perhaps in other missing/exploited/murdered child cases that may have overlap with persons directly and tangentially involved in the OCCK case. We now know there are many of those persons.

We are in the process of having many thousands of documents from this case digitized and converted into a searchable database. Thank you to a reader who offered today to assist with this heavy task. We hope it will be an effective tool.

The original “old boys network” is dying out. Current roadblocks to justice are weakening. As noted, the timeline and story maps are works in progress and “living” projects. For information regarding the timeline, contact OCCKtimeline@gmail.com. Your information could be very helpful there.

Sadly, no good deed goes unpunished in this most awful of cases. Just ask Patrick Coffey, Cory Williams or Kym Worthy. Meanwhile, obstructionists in law enforcement and the legal system, past and present, continue for now to win the battle. I am deeply grateful to Kathleen, Dylan and Marney for their insight, assistance and willingness to take a stand on the need for transparency in this case. The dynamics of power in this case have come squarely down in favor of predators and their enablers. It is time for that power to shift.