William Merriman Missing Person Case

Mar 06, 2011

May 31, 2023

William

Merriman

73

53

76 inches

300 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

On a summer day in East Jordan, Michigan, 53-year-old William "Bill" George Merriman was seen for the last time on June 16, 2006. He was at his parents' home on Phelps Road, where he had been staying for the summer, having traveled from his own apartment in Hudsonville to be with his family following the recent death of his mother in a car accident just five days prior. Merriman was a large man, standing 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing about 300 pounds, with gray hair and blue eyes. His disappearance would not be reported to the authorities for several weeks, when a concerned friend finally raised the alarm, setting in motion a troubling investigation. The initial investigation by the Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office uncovered disturbing evidence at the family home. Merriman's car was found parked in the driveway, and his personal bank accounts showed no activity after his disappearance. Inside the residence, detectives discovered bloodstains that were later confirmed to be a match for William Merriman. The investigation revealed that after William was last seen, a sanitation company had been hired to remove furniture, carpeting, and other trash from the home in July. This led investigators on a grim search through the White Feather Landfill in Pinconning, Michigan, where they found a bloodstained cushion from the house. The evidence began to point not to a simple missing person case, but to a violent crime. Suspicion soon fell on William’s older brother, Charles Curtis "Chuck" Merriman, who also lived at their parents' home. Investigators learned that there was friction between the brothers; William had reportedly threatened to evict Charles, who had been unemployed for a long time, if he did not find a job. In August 2007, Charles Merriman was arrested and charged with the murder of his brother. In May 2008, following a 16-day trial that included testimony from 70 witnesses, Charles was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison. Despite the conviction, the full story of William's final moments remains incomplete, as his body has never been found. The overview of this case is one of a family tragedy that escalated to homicide, with the lack of a body leaving a painful void for relatives and a lasting mystery for the community.

Jun 16, 2006

East Jordan

Michigan

Charlevoix County

9763

Charlevoix County Sheriffs Office

Charlevoix

Michigan

Charlevoix County

49720

1000 Grant, Michigan

2315474461

County

Law Enforcement

https://www.charlevoixcounty.org/charlevoix_county_sheriff/index.php

1445-06

Charlevoix County Sheriffs Office

Gray or Partially Gray

Blue

Blue

07/01/2026