On July 21, 1975, 24 year old Janis Kay Sanders disappeared from Niles after working her shift as a waitress at local restaurant Pete’s Patio. Sanders was never seen or heard from again, leaving behind her two-year-old son James and five-year-old daughter Dena.
Now, Janis is presumed dead — her case first went cold after the main suspect, a former boyfriend of hers, was acquitted of the murder of another former partner — Janeice Langs. At the time, charges had been filed against the suspect for Sanders' murder, but after the acquittal, charges were dropped and both cases went cold. Neither Sanders or Lang's bodies have been found, and the main suspect in both cases is now deceased.
In 2022, MSP reopened Janis Sanders' case, which is being investigated as an abduction-homicide with assistance from the WMU Cold Case Program. MSP Detective Sergeant John Moore said the investigation is currently focused on locating Sanders' body.
“I mean, even some of the older detectives that worked this case originally, it's — they still think about it almost daily. It bothers them," Moore said.
Janis's children Dena and James Sanders, now 55 and 52, are dedicated to keeping their mother's memory — and the fight for justice — alive. They say family and friends remember Janis as a kind, soft-spoken and creative woman who dreamed of going to art school.
"It's a tragedy that just kind of repeats itself when we look back and think about how she didn't get to have a chance to know us, and live her life, and use a cell phone, and use the internet and get a smart car," James said. "I think about her all the time, that she didn't get the chance to experience the things that a lot of us take for granted."
Though 50 years have passed, the Sanderses believe the case can still be solved - and investigators are still searching for new clues.
Detective Moore said students with the Cold Case Program began by analyzing thousands of digitized files to find new places to search. Then, investigators began searching a large farm near Niles that belonged to the suspect using special cameras, ground-penetrating radars and cadaver dogs to look for potential burial sites. After several searches, nothing was found — but Moore said investigators haven't given up hope.
“It's essentially like trying to find a needle in a haystack on 40 acres of land. But there's a possibility someday, you know, somebody stumbles across something or does some excavating and comes across something. That's our hope," Moore said.
Moving forward, Moore said there are other plots of land that officials are interested in searching as potential burial sites. Because the Sanders' and Langs' cases took place in the Michiana area near the Michigan-Indiana border, Moore said MSP hopes to search sites in Indiana — but needs prior approval from Indiana police officials since the sites are not in MSP's jurisdiction.
James and Dena Sanders say they're not giving up on their mother's case. The siblings started a podcast in 2023 dedicated to speaking about the case, called "Cold No More". And on July 19, two days before the 50th anniversary of Janis' disappearance, they held an event in Niles to celebrate their mother and call for justice for her, Janeice Langs, and other women who have gone missing from the Niles area.
“Sometimes, you know, these types of cases are taboo and people don't want to get involved or they're afraid that there's a killer somewhere out there. But I'm not afraid and I'm going to put it out there and I'm going to advocate for my mom," James said.
James and Dena believe information is still out there about their mother's case, and they urge anyone with information about the case to speak up.
"I mean it could be the simplest thing that — 'Oh, I remember seeing so and so at the store,' or something. You just never know how that's going to lead into something else," Dena said.
Officials and family members say anyone with information about Janis Sanders' disappearance should contact Michigan Crime Stoppers to submit an anonymous tip. The siblings say after 50 years, they understand if someone is too nervous to speak with police — and say they also welcome anyone with information to speak with the Sanders family directly if they would prefer.
“It's about her and her life that was taken away, you know, in a a violent way and she has had no justice. Her family has had no closure," James said. "The truth is still out there and that's what we're still looking for.”
