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Let’s be clear. Forty-five years is an extraordinarily long time to live with an unanswered question. Yet for the family, friends and community of Helen Dymond, the question has never gone away: What happened to her?
Dymond disappeared in 1981 after leaving a party at the Tilden Township Club to walk home. She was never seen again. No one was arrested in connection with her disappearance, and despite the passage of decades, the case remains unresolved.
That alone is reason enough to keep looking.
But the recent search of property in Negaunee demonstrates something equally important: the community has not forgotten Helen. And, we believe, that is immensely important.
A property owner’s father, who knew the area when he was young, has for years believed that a particular location in the woods could hold answers. He recalls seeing a dug-up area around the time Dymond disappeared. He also remembers a neighbor explaining one hole as a grave for a horse, though he does not recall horses being kept by the neighbors.
Those memories are not proof of what happened to Dymond. And they should not be treated as such. But in a cold case, a credible lead -- especially one remembered for decades and now capable of being investigated -- deserves to be examined.
That is exactly what has happened.
The property owner and a family friend have repeatedly searched the land, inviting Michigan State Police officers to be present. Ground-penetrating radar, drone technology and metal detectors have been used to identify anomalies, which have then been marked for further examination. During a recent search, a state trooper who works with cold cases witnessed the excavation.
Investigators understand the limitations. After 45 years, acidic sandy soil may have destroyed or severely degraded human remains. The search may never produce the discovery everyone hopes for. Investigators therefore look for the things time might leave behind: teeth, jewelry, zippers or other physical evidence.
This is painstaking work. It is also necessary work.
Cold cases do not come with expiration dates. The passage of time makes investigations harder, but it does not make the person who disappeared any less deserving of answers. There is an understandable temptation, after four and a half decades, to conclude that nothing more can be done. But that conclusion should be resisted whenever legitimate leads remain.
The recent search also illustrates why cooperation between private citizens and law enforcement matters plays a key role in these kinds of cases. The people who know a piece of land intimately can remember things investigators decades later may never have known. Conversely, trained investigators bring the expertise necessary to determine whether something discovered in the ground has evidentiary value.
The proper response is neither to dismiss old memories nor to turn suspicions into accusations. It is to investigate them carefully, objectively and thoroughly. That principle is particularly important in Dymond’s case. There have been theories over the years--including the possibility that she was struck by a drunk driver but theories are not facts. Neither is the discovery of an old can, a nail or an unexplained depression in the ground proof of a crime. Every piece of evidence must be evaluated for what it actually shows.
Still, searching is worthwhile.
Helen Dymond has been missing for 45 years. Her disappearance should not become merely a footnote in local history because so much time has passed.
Someone, somewhere, may still know something.