Friday, January 19, 2001

NEWAYGO -- State police have been issued a permit allowing them to dredge sections of the murky
Oxford Lake in Newaygo County to find evidence related to the case of a missing 1-year-old and
three men who disappeared in 1997.

That summer, turtle hunters found the body of 19-year-old Rachel Timmerman in the lake. The Cedar
Springs woman's mouth had been covered with tape and her body weighted down with cinder blocks
and chains. Police believe she was alive when she was put in the water.

She had disappeared a month earlier during an outing with her baby daughter, Shannon VerHage.

The child was not found.

They disappeared two days before Timmerman was to appear in court to testify against Marvin
Gabrion Jr., whom she had accused of sexually assaulting her.

Federal prosecutors have charged Gabrion with Timmerman's murder and have said they believe the
child may be dead, too.

No trial date has been set, but federal prosecutors have said evidence against him includes a map of
Oxford Lake with a reference to three bodies in the water, allegedly written by Gabrion. Baby bottle
nipples and diapers were found at Gabrion's camp site near the lake.

Three other men who allegedly had contact with Gabrion also are missing, police have said.

Authorities already have searched the lake several times with divers and cadaver-sniffing dogs. The
dogs have reacted to areas of the lake, barking or biting at the water, police have said.

State police last fall applied for a permit from the state's Department of Environmental Quality to
remove soil and muck from the lake's bottom in specific areas.

The dredging request was granted in November, said Charles Dogers, an environmental quality
analyst. It's good through the end of this year, and allows them to remove up to 300 cubic yards of
material from the lake.

Dogers said he does not know when police plan to dredge the lake. They are not required to notify
the DEQ before they begin.

Detectives working on the case declined to comment, saying a federal judge's order prevented them
from discussing the investigation.

SHANNON DALE VERHAGE
Case Type :Nonfamily Abduction
DOB :jun-15-1996 Age :4 years
Height : 2' 6" - 76 cm
Weight : 30 lbs - 14 kg
Eyes :Blue Hair : Blonde
Circumstances : Shannon's photo is shown age-progressed to 2 1/2 years. Age-progression by the
FBI (10/26/98). Shannon was last seen on June 3, 1997 in Cedar Springs, Michigan, with her mother.
Her mother has since been found deceased. Shannon's whereabouts are unknown. She was last seen
wearing a tricolored dress and a diaper.
Date Missing :jun-03-1997
City of Report :CEDAR SPRINGS
State of Report :MI
Country of Report :USA
Case Number :835530

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

She would be 6 now