Cathleen "Cathy" Dennis, a 28-year-old woman from Omaha, Nebraska, vanished in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 10, 1995. She and her sister, Deanna, both of whom were involved in sex work, had traveled to Grand Rapids just a few days prior to work outside of their hometown. The sisters checked into a hotel and, on the night of Cathleen's disappearance, had drinks at a nightclub before separating to find clients.
Deanna last saw her sister getting into a light-colored Chevrolet, possibly a model from the mid-1960s, at the intersection of Division Avenue and Putnam Street Southwest. When Deanna was ready to leave at approximately 4:00 a.m., she could not locate Cathleen and has not heard from her since. At the time of her disappearance, Cathleen was described as an African-American female with red hair, brown eyes, and pierced ears, standing at 5'3" and weighing 135 pounds. Her family described her as goofy, a joy to be around, and the life of the party.
For decades, Cathleen's case remained cold, one of several unsolved disappearances and murders of women involved in the local commercial sex industry in Grand Rapids during the mid-1990s. However, a significant development emerged in early 2024 when a convicted killer and long-haul trucker, Garry Artman, gave a deathbed confession. Dying of cancer, Artman admitted to murdering 11 women, including Cathleen Dennis. He told detectives that he had killed a young Black woman matching her description and disposed of her body in a dumpster. While this confession provided some sense of closure for Cathleen's family, her remains have never been recovered.Last Seen: Jul 10, 1995
