MI MI - Amanda Lankey, 13, White Cloud, 21 June 2004

Michigan
Beaten to death.

http://www.mlive.com this is the link to the news story of this child. sorry to hear that she is deceased. may god bless her family.

Thanks dannyodie!

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-16/1089323680165150.xml

Authorities: Blunt object used to fatally beat former White Cloud teen

The Associated Press
7/8/2004, 5:47 p.m. ET

WHITE CLOUD, Mich. (AP) — A baseball bat or some other blunt instrument was used to fatally beat a 13-year-old girl found dead after she apparently sneaked out of a friend's home during a sleep-over, the Newaygo County medical examiner said Thursday.

Richard Peters told Grand Rapids station WOOD-TV that Amanda Lankey, a Florida resident who lived in White Cloud until earlier this year, died from a blow to the head that shattered her skull and jaw. A telephone message seeking further comment was left at his office.

Prayers for justice, Lanie
Help For The Missing

West Michigan murder case remains unsolved

A baffling crime remains unsolved in West Michigan.
It's been nearly 18 months, and the family of murdered Amanda Lankey has come and gone again in their search for elusive clues. They don't plan on closure coming in a box with a bow this Christmas. But a mother would sure like to know: who killed my daughter?

"It will never be the same. I want to get mad... I just want to get mad," said Victoria Lankey.

Lankey sits around the family table in White Cloud, wiping a tear of the heartbreak she wears. "I thought it was going to be easier this time,' she said. "I guess not."

The town is still marked nay scarred by what happened. "When people see me in town they know why I'm here. When they see me they see Amanda and I know they haven't forgotten about her," Lankey said.

The case is all but settled. Amanda, 13, was in town visiting friends. The family had fled south years before from an abusive and now imprisoned father. Amanda was last seen at a friends house on a hot summers night, when he met a torturous end and was dumped in a forest.

The case has been probed. Her online chats with the sign-on name: Skitzo Killa. Another deceptive suspect, and the blood found in his ditched car, leads to nothing...

More: http://www.woodtv.com/global/story.asp?s=4260102

Amw profile.

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=47042

Such a beautiful young girl whose family are still desperate for answers.

*******************************************************
Thursday, 12 Mar 2009, 12:13 AM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 11 Mar 2009, 12:34 AM EDT

WHITE CLOUD, Mich. (WOOD) - Family and friends of Amanda Lankey-- a 13-year-old who was killed almost five years ago in White Cloud -- hope that collecting signatures could lead to clues about who's responsible for her death.
Lankey vanished from a friend's room. No Amber Alert was ever issued, and police thought she left willingly until her body was found in the Manistee National Forest.
"We're ready to have this over with. We need closure. We need to figure out where this person's at, where this person is hiding," James Kahn, Amanda's brother, told 24 Hour News 8. "We have other kids in this community, running around every day. Nobody is safe until this person is caught."
Friends and family are hoping they find "Justice for Amanda."
They think a petition could encourage the Newaygo County prosecutor to take the case to a grand jury. And they're hoping something in the case breaks, and somebody talks for the first time.
Charles Smith is helping to collect signatures. He says "there is also the ability for the grand jury to give you immunity for things that you testify about."
They're hoping the trail of clues -- now dated -- could lead to more answers than questions.

More info at the link on petition
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/Petition_to_find_Amanda_s_killer

I am so glad that Amanda has not been forgotten. I am not from the same city, but from the area and have always wondered why her killer has never been caught. It is a small town, seems like somebody would've seen or heard something.

There has been news lately, don't know if it will end up being connected to the case or not, but at least the detectives are looking into it. Here is a link to the story, with an excerpt. (there is more info on the local tv stations too)

http://origin.wzzm13.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=108129&catid=2

WHITE CLOUD, Mich. (WZZM) A man with ties to the investigation into Amanda Lankey's death will stand trial on unrelated charges.

Cecil Wallis Junior was ordered to stand trial today on assault and unlawful imprisonment charges.

He was arrested earlier this month for allegedly duct taping and beating three women. (read more at link and see picture)

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/185441/2/Man-linked-to-cold-case-murder-dies

11:52 PM, Nov 10, 2011

Man linked to cold case murder dies

Police believe Wallis committed suicide a few hours before he was due in court Thursday, to face charges for sexually assaulting two underage teenagers.

Click to expand...

http://www.9and10news.com/story/19349943/woman-arrested-in-connection-with-newaygo-county-murder


woman arrested in connection with amanda's death

Right now details are slim, but we can tell you they arrested Candace Baumgarter-Wallis yesterday. She is charged with 2 counts of making false statements during her testimony in the investigation.

Baumgarter-Wallis could face life in prison, if found guilty, the same penalty for the crime being investigated.

Click to expand...

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/...ey-investigation?odyssey=tab|topnews|bc|large

Baumgartner is a former White Cloud Police officer and city council member.......is the sister of Cecil Wallis Sr., who was a person of interest in the Lankey murder before he committed suicide last November.

Click to expand...

FB page justice for Amanda: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.lankey.7?ref=ts

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/04/second_person_charged_in_amand.html

Marcus Wallis, one of two people accused of lying to prosecutors in the investigation of Amanda Lankey's 2004 slaying, has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.

Wallis, 26, entered a plea to making false statements to police, reduced from perjury. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail to be served on weekends. Perhaps more importantly to the family of Lankey, a judge also ordered Wallis to take a polygraph test on facets of the investigation...

Prosecutors say Wallis-Baumgartner, a former White Cloud police officer, lied about being asked to help at the crime scene where Lankey's body was found... She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in March and was sentenced to 30 weekends in jail. She also was ordered to take a polygraph.

Click to expand...

Wonder how the Wallis family was involved...

Brotherfudz said:

Wonder how the Wallis family was involved...

Click to expand...

So glad some info is seeping out.
I don’t live in WC/Newaygo county but own a house in WC.
Pretty desolate area, the Manistee Forest & all. The fishing/hunting & other recreation bring so many tourists in. Sadly, I don’t feel safe in the area when I’m there.

A file image shows the missing persons flyer for Amanda Lankey.
“Not only was I petrified as the days went by because nobody had heard from her, nobody had seen her, I just kept getting madder and madder and madder because I couldn’t get any help,” Foster said. “And then finally the help came, and it was too late. It was too late.”

Amanda’s badly beaten body was found two weeks later by mushroom hunters in the Manistee National Forest. While no one was ever charged in connection with Amanda’s death, police named Cecil Wallis Sr. as a person of interest in her death years later. He was the stepfather of the friend whose house Amanda had stayed the night at when she disappeared. He died by suicide before the prosecutor could file charges.

“I know the man who did this is gone. I know that and that he can’t hurt anybody else, but there’s so many more people out here just like him,” Foster said. “I don’t want that to happen to anybody else’s kid or grandkid.”

Since her daughter’s death, Foster has worked tirelessly with local law enforcement and lawmakers to reclassify missing teens.

“No child should ever be classified as a runaway. Even if they are a runaway, there’s a problem,” she said.

Every year on the anniversary of the day Amanda went missing, loved ones gather at the very park Amanda used to play at to honor her short life. This year, family and friends threw flowers into a nearby stream in honor of Amanda.