Overview

Date disappeared: July 18, 2016

Home/Missing From: Florence, Wisconsin

Publicly documented last sighting: Super One Foods/Midtown Mall parking area in Iron Mountain, Michigan, where surveillance footage showed Nancy entering a white SUV.

Later investigative last-known location: In 2024, authorities said they believed property near Upper Pine Creek Road and Grandview Drive in Breitung Township, Michigan, was the last location where Nancy was seen alive.

Age when missing: 47

NamUs: MP35032

Case status: Missing person presumed dead; investigated by the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office as a no-body homicide.

Main circumstances: Nancy traveled from Florence to Iron Mountain on July 18, 2016. She was captured on surveillance entering a white SUV and did not return home. Her vehicle remained in the parking lot with perishable groceries inside. Investigators subsequently identified the SUV’s driver, developed a suspect, and eventually classified Nancy’s disappearance as a homicide investigation. More than 200 acres in Breitung Township were searched under warrants in August 2024. No publicly announced recovery, arrest, or criminal charge was located through September 20, 2026.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Nancy Kathleen Renkas: The 2016 Disappearance and Ongoing Homicide Investigation

Nancy Kathleen Renkas was 47 years old when she disappeared on July 18, 2016, after leaving her home in Florence, Wisconsin, and traveling into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. What initially began as a missing-person case eventually became a no-body homicide investigation, with investigators continuing to pursue evidence years after she vanished.

The Day Nancy Renkas Disappeared

On the morning of July 18, 2016, Nancy left her Florence, Wisconsin, residence and traveled to Iron Mountain, Michigan. Her family later said she was purchasing groceries for a special dinner connected to the pending sale of the family’s campground.

Nancy also had plans involving a camping trailer. Authorities and family accounts indicate she met a relative in the Iron Mountain area and discussed looking at a camper.

At approximately 12:30 p.m., surveillance footage captured Nancy at the Super One Foods/Midtown Mall parking area in Iron Mountain. She was seen getting into a white SUV, which then traveled east on U.S. 2.

Nancy did not return home.

Nancy’s Vehicle Is Found

Nancy’s family became alarmed when she failed to return as expected and stopped responding to calls and messages. Her children reported her missing the following day.

Her vehicle was found at the Super One Foods parking lot. Investigators later emphasized an important detail: perishable groceries had been left inside. Law enforcement viewed this as an indication that Nancy probably expected to be away from her vehicle only briefly.

Authorities located the white SUV seen on surveillance footage and identified its driver. The disappearance eventually became the focus of a multi-jurisdictional investigation involving law enforcement agencies in Michigan and Wisconsin.

The Investigation Intensifies

By 2018, Dickinson County investigators publicly confirmed that they had identified a suspect, although the person’s identity was not initially released. Authorities said the individual knew Nancy and indicated investigators believed information provided during the investigation had been false or misleading.

In August 2020, Detective Lt. Derek Dixon testified in court that Nancy’s sister-in-law, Louise Wender, was considered a suspect in the disappearance. Wender acknowledged in a later interview that Nancy had entered her 2010 Lincoln Navigator that day.

Wender has denied harming Nancy. She has said that the two women went looking for a camper, were unable to locate it, and that she returned Nancy to the Midtown Mall parking lot afterward.

No criminal charges have been filed against Wender in connection with Nancy’s disappearance.

Case Reclassified as a Homicide Investigation

A major change came in July 2022, six years after Nancy vanished.

The Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office announced that investigators were treating Nancy’s disappearance as a no-body homicide investigation. The agency said investigators had found no evidence that Nancy voluntarily disappeared and believed she had vanished while in peril.

Although Nancy had not been located, law enforcement continued to describe the investigation as active.

In 2023, authorities said a task force involving Michigan and Wisconsin investigators continued meeting regularly. The Michigan Attorney General’s Office had also been consulted, and officials indicated that reaching seven years since Nancy’s disappearance allowed certain legal proceedings that could assist investigators.

Major 2024 Search in Breitung Township

The investigation became highly visible again on August 10, 2024, when authorities executed search warrants on more than 200 acres near Upper Pine Creek Road and Grandview Drive in Breitung Township, Michigan.

This development was particularly significant because authorities said investigators believed the area was the last known location where Nancy was seen alive.

Search-warrant reporting showed that investigators searched multiple properties and used search dogs while looking for possible human remains, biological evidence, evidence connected with the removal of a body, and personal property belonging to Nancy.

Investigators also sought electronic evidence. Warrants authorized searches for location information and existing or deleted electronic communications relating to Nancy’s disappearance, homicide, or the possible removal or disposal of her body. Investigators additionally sought written records and other documentation that could potentially shed light on what happened.

Authorities did not publicly announce that Nancy’s remains had been discovered during the search, and no arrest was announced.

Latest Investigation Information

The most recent major publicly reported development located in this review came in November 2025, when Louise and Dale Wender filed litigation connected to the investigation.

The lawsuit seeks access to law-enforcement records and the unsealing of search-warrant affidavits while also challenging the authorities’ treatment of the Wenders during the investigation. Their attorney has disputed the continuing suspicion directed toward them.

These allegations are claims made by the Wenders and their attorney and should not be treated as findings that law enforcement acted improperly.

Conversely, being identified as a suspect during an investigation is not proof of criminal responsibility. No one has been criminally charged in Nancy Renkas’s disappearance or presumed death according to the latest reliable public reporting located for this article.

As of September 20, 2026, no reliable public report located for this review announces that Nancy’s remains have been recovered, that an arrest has been made, or that anyone has been criminally charged with her death.

The Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office continues to be the principal contact for information concerning what happened to Nancy.

Brief Case Summary

Date disappeared: July 18, 2016

Home/Missing From: Florence, Wisconsin

Publicly documented last sighting: Super One Foods/Midtown Mall parking area in Iron Mountain, Michigan, where surveillance footage showed Nancy entering a white SUV.

Later investigative last-known location: In 2024, authorities said they believed property near Upper Pine Creek Road and Grandview Drive in Breitung Township, Michigan, was the last location where Nancy was seen alive.

Age when missing: 47

NamUs: MP35032

Case status: Missing person presumed dead; investigated by the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office as a no-body homicide.

Main circumstances: Nancy traveled from Florence to Iron Mountain on July 18, 2016. She was captured on surveillance entering a white SUV and did not return home. Her vehicle remained in the parking lot with perishable groceries inside. Investigators subsequently identified the SUV’s driver, developed a suspect, and eventually classified Nancy’s disappearance as a homicide investigation. More than 200 acres in Breitung Township were searched under warrants in August 2024. No publicly announced recovery, arrest, or criminal charge was located through September 20, 2026.