LOS ANGELES, CA (WZZM) - It has now been 31 years since Dean Marie Pyle Peters (Deanie Peters) vanished without a trace from Forest Hills Central Middle School in Ada, Michigan. Investigators, friends and family have been searching for her ever since, but have come up empty.
For the first time since his daughter's disappearance, Deanie's father, Duane Pyle, sat down with WZZM 13's Brent Ashcroft for a television interview about the days and weeks after Deanie disappeared. Brent and photojournalist Andy Sugden traveled to Los Angeles to talk to Mr. Peters.
During the trip out west, not only did Duane Pyle speak but, in a way, so did Deanie herself, through a letter her father found by chance while searching through a closet just 48 hours before WZZM arrived at his house.
Words to paper.
"She was a lot of fun," said Duane Pyle, the father of Deanie Peters.
Her words.
"We miss her so much," added Pyle.
From her own hand.
A hand-written letter from Deanie with her words - frozen in time - for 31 years.
"It went on for a long time; the hurt and the disappointment," said Pyle, describing the heartache his family has endured after three decades with no answers. Duane Pyle, the father of Deanie Peters, sat in his California home, read the last letter he received from Deanie, putting his voice to his daughter's words.
"Dear Daddy, I miss you so," Deanie said to start the letter. "I just wish I could be with you. I still haven't gotten your present yet, but maybe by the time you get this [letter], I'll get it."
Pyle said this was the last letter he received from Deanie before she disappeared.
"Oh Daddy, you're going to be so proud of me when I tell you how I'm doing in school," Deanie's letter went on to read.
Duane remembers a hopeful plan that he and Deanie were trying to pull together before she disappeared.
"We talked about her moving back out here but it never happened because she disappeared soon after that," Pyle said regretfully.
Duane Pyle, now 77-years old, says he remembers with clarity the day Deanie disappeared.
"You think about it all the time," said Pyle.
He also remembers when the Grand Rapids Police first contacted him.
"They asked me if my youngest son owned a van and I said, 'yes'," said Pyle. "They also wanted to know if [my son] might might have driven to Grand Rapids and picked her up."
Investigators then considered Duane as a suspect.
"I said, 'no, she's not out here,'" Pyle said. "I have no idea where she is."
At the time, Duane thought about going to Grand Rapids. "Part of me wishes I had gone," added Pyle.
But he chose not to. "If the police had asked me to come back I would have," said Pyle. "If they thought I could have helped and made a difference I would have gone."
Deanie's friends and family have been speaking about her for 31 years.
Now, for the first time since her disappearance, and through the letter, she gets to speak for herself.
"I got two B's, one A+ on my math test, then I got two B's and one A on my science test," Deanie's letter continued to read. "I have a big picture of me for you this year; I hope you like it."
Deanie's letter went on to read, "Well Dad, how was your new year? How was your Christmas? Mine was okay, I guess, but it brought back a lot of memories of you and my brothers and sisters."
Duane remembers his last phone call with Deanie.
"She only mentioned school and that she was doing well," said Pyle. "I don't think I talked to her again. The next phone call I got was from the police."
Duane says he had a few sources of strength since his daughter's disappearance. "My other children; I have 11 grandchildren," he added.
This letter also has served as a source of strength, because it allows Deanie's voice to resonate once again.
"My boyfriend wants to meet you," Deanie continued to say in her letter. "His name is Larry, but everybody calls him Guy."
The boyfriend Deanie was referring to was Larry "Guy" Dahlke, who had been a student at Forest Hills Central High School.
"I didn't even know she was dating," added Duane.
Deanie's words in the letter take Duane back to a time before his life changed forever.
Today, the most important words for Duane Pyle are not from Deanie. They are from others, and they would answer these questions:
What happened, and where is she?
"I know it's asking a lot for somebody to come forward that's involved in something 31 years ago," said Pyle. "[I can understand] how that might affect their family, their children and grandchildren, but I ask people to think about that; think about Deanie's mom; myself and the others that loved her. We'd appreciate anything that you can do."
Because the words in Deanie's letter are the last words her father has.
"Well Daddy, let's start keeping in touch better," Deanie's letter concluded. "I miss you so much; I just wish I could see you."
"Love, your daughter, Deanie."
The Kent County Metro Cold Case Team says there are individuals living in Grand Rapids today who know what happened to Deanie Peters and where her body is but they refuse to cooperate with the investigation.
A $25,000 cash reward will go to the person who comes forward with credible information about what happened to Deanie Peters and where her remains are buried.
If you have tips, you're asked to call Silent Observer (616) 774-2345 or the Kent County Sheriff's Department (616) 632-6123.
Report by Brent Ashcroft