WA WA - Michaelle Champagne, 30, Spokane, 8 Sep 1993

The Doe Network:
Case File 2807DFWA

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/2807dfwa.html

Michaelle Marie Champagne
Missing since September 8, 1993 from Spokane, Spokane County, Washington
Classification: Missing



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Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: July 1, 1963
Age at Time of Disappearance: 30 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'8"; 120 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. brown hair; blue eyes.
Dentals: Available


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Circumstances of Disappearance
Michaelle Champagne, a Belgian citizen, was supposed to return to her home country, but did not. She was reported missing after her parents and friends hadn't heard from her. Her parents in Belgium last spoke to her in February 1993, after she returned to the United States from a trip home. She broke up with her American boyfriend shortly after returning. Champagne is believed to have placed her belongings, including her furniture in a Spokane storage facility. Her last known address was the Starlight Motel on South Geiger Boulevard.



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Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Spokane Police Department
509-625-4041

Agency Case Number: 93-0742851

Source Information:
WASPC
The Spokesman-Review

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/c/champagne_michaelle.html

Michaelle is *not* listed in NamUs at this time.

No archived articles for Michaelle.

Michaelle has been missing almost 17 years. Come home soon.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/jun/26/cold-case-new-clues-sought-in-disappearance-of/

June 26, 2011
Chelsea Bannach The Spokesman-Review

The former boyfriend has refused polygraph testing, telling police he “doesn’t believe in that kind of magic,” Burbridge said.

Click to expand...

Former BF not named because he has not been charged with any crime.

This article gives pretty good background info.

Michaelle is now in NamUs

Doe Network lists her missing date as September 8, 1993 while NamUs has it as June 1, 1993. September 8th is when the missing persons report was filed by the (ex)boyfriend. The June 1st date is when he claimed he saw her riding a motorcycle in Spokane.

Charley Project states she is missing from Washington D.C. and was last seen on March 9, 1993. This was the last time she spoke with her parents. In the article from the previous post, investigators are looking at UIDs from both DC and Washington state. Given the amount of time that passed between the last phone call and when the report was filed, it seems like detectives would have a very difficult time finding any kind of evidence. The behavior of the ex is suspicious but it doesn't prove he's a killer.

2011 article:

kane police Detective Mark Burbridge, who has reopened the missing person case, thinks she was murdered...

After months passed without any contact, Champagne’s parents grew increasingly concerned and repeatedly urged her former boyfriend to report her missing. He insisted he hadn’t talked to her and had no idea of her exact whereabouts.

On Sept. 8, 1993, nearly six months after her family had last heard from her, he filed the missing person report, but explained that he had not spoken to Champagne since their breakup March 17, 1993. He did tell detectives he thought he saw her around town and that she had left love letters in his mailbox.

In the months before filing the missing person report, detectives say, the boyfriend’s behavior was curious. According to Burbridge, he twice tried to use Champagne’s credit cards, sold all her expensive, Belgian oak furniture out of storage that August, and sold the Volvo the two owned together.

“I don’t know many girls that would date a guy for a few months and let him sell all her stuff and keep all the money,” Burbridge said. “The car, the furniture – use all of her credit cards.”

Click to expand...

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/jun/26/cold-case-new-clues-sought-in-disappearance-of/

Updated Charley Project page - Michaelle Marie Champagne – The Charley Project

Bumping for Michaelle - this month is 27 years since she disappeare.

I know they do not look too much alike, but the Oslo hotel room death involved a woman with black hair and blue eyes.

The death occurred in 1995, and Michealle disappeared in 1993.

Much of the evidence in the Oslo case points to the woman being Belgian.

On NAMUS, Michealla is said to be very familiar with Belgian banking. This stands out to me, because according to one article she received a large amount of money from the divorce (like $60,000) but then had some very strange deposit of a similar amount from an unknown source.

Several other sites claim that Michealla was a military spouse and lived in Germany for a few years. Belgians typically speak French, Dutch, and German fluently. The Oslo women spoke German and English.

There are a few other similarities that I noticed but this is what I can recall for now.

Kat said:

Michaelle is *not* listed in NamUs at this time.

Click to expand...

Maybe a recent addition?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

The newspaper article (PDF file) on her NamUs was interesting.
Based on it, she sounds like a responsible person who became involved with the wrong man, IMO.
I don't buy it that she gave him her furniture and car.

lonewanderer said:

I know they do not look too much alike, but the Oslo hotel room death involved a woman with black hair and blue eyes

Click to expand...

Interesting similarities but yeah, I don't think they look alike at all.

Bumping case up.

The Charley Project says the ex boyfriend is Darryl Matlen. Looks like he's alive and well in the same place. Anything new on this case since 2011?