Account
Jul 15, 2009
May 30, 2023
Nadine
ODell
66
16
61 inches
105 lbs
White / Caucasian
Female
On a summer morning in 1974, sixteen-year-old Nadine Jean O'Dell vanished while walking in Inkster, Michigan. On August 16th, shortly after 9:30 a.m., she was seen on John Daly Road, heading toward Michigan Avenue. Nadine was on her way to her boyfriend's house in the nearby city of Taylor to babysit his younger siblings. Her boyfriend had planned to meet her partway, but she never arrived at their meeting point. When she didn't show up, he went to her house to find her, which is when her family realized something was wrong. At the time of her disappearance, Nadine was wearing a white t-shirt, faded baggy blue jeans, and a significant piece of jewelry: her boyfriend's Taylor Center High School class ring on a chain around her neck. The white gold ring had a blue stone and a ram's head on it, with "1976" or "76" inscribed. The initial search and investigation into Nadine's disappearance yielded few clues, and the case grew cold over the years. Her family, including her younger sister Brenda Lee Handloser, never gave up hope for answers. Handloser, who was only nine when Nadine went missing, has spoken about her belief that her sister would not have run away and that someone must have seen something that day. The case remained stagnant for decades, a painful mystery for her loved ones and the community. A significant development in the case came in 2018 when authorities announced a possible link between Nadine's disappearance and a suspected serial killer named Arthur Ream. Ream had been convicted for the 1986 murder of thirteen-year-old Cindy Zarzycki and was suspected in the disappearances of several other young girls in the area, including Cynthia Coon, Kimberly King, Kim Larrow, and Kellie Brownlee. While incarcerated, Ream allegedly confessed to his cellmates that he was a serial killer with multiple victims. This information prompted police to excavate a property in Macomb Township where Zarzycki's body had been found, hoping to uncover the remains of other missing girls. Despite a week-long search, no human remains were discovered, and the dig was concluded. Ream died in prison from cancer, leaving the cases of Nadine and the other missing girls officially unsolved. The investigation into what happened to Nadine O'Dell on that August morning remains open, a haunting example of a life cut short and a family left without closure.
Aug 16, 1974
Inkster
Michigan
Wayne County
25836
Inkster Police Department
Inkster
Michigan
Wayne County
48141
26279 Michigan Ave, Michigan
3135639850
Local
Law Enforcement
05-3632
1964-08-17
Inkster Police Department
6569
Blond/Strawberry
Green
Green
06/17/2026
