1983 kidnapping, homicide of Michigan teen solved, authorities say

After more than four decades, the kidnapping and homicide of a 16-year-old Flint girl has been solved by Michigan State Police cold case investigators. 

Sheri Jo Elliott was reported missing on Nov. 16, 1983, after she did not return home from school in Flint. 

Elliott was last seen waiting for a bus. Law enforcement and community members searched the area before Elliott's body was found on a rural road in Blumfield Township in Saginaw County four days after she was reported missing. 

Police say Elliott suffered multiple gunshot wounds and had been sexually assaulted.

Despite an extensive investigation, authorities say Elliott's case remained unsolved because of limited forensic technology at the time. 

In 2023, detectives reopened Elliott's case and partnered with the MSP Forensic Science Division and Othram Labs in utilizing Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing to create a profile of an unidentified suspect. 

That suspect was later identified as 75-year-old Roni Collins of Grand Blanc. 

Police say that Collins took his own life in January 2026 before they could obtain a voluntary DNA sample. 

Investigators collected DNA from Collins' autopsy and matched the evidence that was recovered from Elliott to identify Collins as the person responsible for the crime, police said. 

"Although Collins will not face prosecution, detectives believe the identification provides long-awaited answers to Elliott's family and the community," MSP Third District said in a statement. 

Police say students from Western Michigan University's Cold Case Program played a pivotal role in solving this cold case, reorganizing and digitizing decades of materials from the investigation.