Verhage's mother, Rachel Timmerman, was allegedly raped by Marvin Charles Gabrion II six weeks after she gave birth to Verhage in 1996 in Cedar Springs, Michigan. Photos of Timmerman and Gabrion are posted below this case summary. Timmerman reported the attack to law enforcement and Gabrion was arrested. He was released on bond shortly thereafter. Timmerman was scheduled to testify against Gabrion in court during the summer of 1997. One of the alleged crime's witnesses, Wayne Davis, disappeared after Gabrion was released from custody. Davis planned to testify on Timmerman's behalf at the upcoming rape trial.

Timmerman was having problems with her family during this time and sent Verhage to live with the infant's paternal grandparents. Timmerman began repairing her family relationships during May 1997 and was planning to move into her father's home with Verhage during the summer. She took Verhage to her father's residence during the weekend of June 3, 1997 in preparation for the change of custody. Timmerman and Verhage were last seen on June 3, when an unidentified man picked them up from Timmerman's father's house. This was just three days before she was scheduled to testify under oath against Gabrion. Timmerman told her stepmother they planned to return in approximately two hours. Timmerman apparently only brought Verhage's diaper bag with her, as she did not plan to be away from home for an extended period of time.

Timmerman's father received a letter that was supposedly written by his daughter shortly after she and Verhage left the house. It stated that she planned to elope with an unidentified man and would be in contact with her family in about two weeks. Another letter arrived at her father's home two weeks afterwards, which was postmarked from Little Rock, Arkansas. The final note stated that Timmerman and Verhage were doing well and would write again when they located a permanent address in the area. Family members grew very concerned and suspicious, as Timmerman apparently had no plans to marry anyone or travel anywhere.

Timmerman's body was discovered in Oxford Lake in Manistee National Forest on July 5, 1997, over one month after she and Verhage were last seen. Oxford Lake is approximately 70 miles north of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Timmerman's eyes and mouth had been covered with duct tape and she was placed in handcuffs. She was chained to cinder blocks, then thrown into the water alive, where she drowned. Timmerman was 19 years old at the time of her homicide. There was no sign of Verhage at the scene and the child has never been heard from again.

Timmerman's brother told authorities that Gabrion threatened to murder his sister if she testified against him. Investigators determined that Gabrion was in Newago County and the Cedar Springs area prior to Timmerman and Verhage's disappearances in June 1997. Authorities believed that Timmerman's friend, John Weeks, was the unidentified man who picked Timmerman and Verhage up from her father's residence prior to their disappearances. Weeks also vanished in June 1997 and has never been located.

An investigation was launched into Gabrion's background. Authorities discovered that he was collecting Social Security checks under the name "Robert Allen" in 1997. Allen was actually a transient from Grand Rapids and had been missing for some time. Gabrion was arrested and convicted of Social Security fraud in July 1998 and was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

Gabrion was charged with Timmerman's murder in March 2001. The state of Michigan banned the death penalty many years ago, but authorities charged Gabrion in federal court due to Timmerman's murder location, which occurred on government property. As a result, prosecutors were able to seek the death penalty as punishment for Gabrion. Authorities stated in the death penalty notice that Gabrion's conduct led to the Verhage's disappearance. Gabrion has not been charged in connection with the disappearances of Verhage, Davis, Weeks or Allen.

Authorities dredged Oxford Lake in May 2001 in an attempt to recover possible evidence against Gabrion, but nothing was located. Gabiron's trial for Timmerman's homicide began in Grand Rapids, Michigan in Fenruary 2002. Authorities stated that keys found in his residence fit the locks placed on Timmerman's body. Investigators admitted that the locks, chain and handcuffs found with Timmerman had not been checked for fingerprints. Prints were not found on the duct tape which covered her face.

Gabrion was convicted of Timmerman's murder in early March 2002 and sentenced to death shortly thereafter. He appealed his conviction and sentence, but the sentence was upheld in 2006. Verhage's case remains unsolved. She has never been located.

Left: Timmerman and Verhage, circa 1997;
Right: Gabrion, circa 1998