Looking for closure in the case of his missing daughter

MARSHALL, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - It's a Michigan mystery that has puzzled investigators and an entire West Michigan community.

Many people in Marshall believe something horrible happened to Mary Lands, but they're not sure what.

Now Land's parents are speaking out since they believe they know what happened to their daughter, and they've taken their concerns to some of the highest offices in Michigan.

On March 12, 2004 Mary Lands walked out of an apartment complex and was never seen again, five years later, her parents feel like little has been done.

"We need to get this thing back out there again, let them know that Mary's still missing," said Clifford Marshall, Mary's father.

Clifford has a hole in his heart, it's been with him for five years. Ever since his daughter went missing.

"There's a lot of crying, my wife cries a lot," Clifford said.

Clifford isn't sitting idly by, he's come clean in a letter to lawmakers and law enforcement across Michigan, saying that his daughter's case has been mishandled. His private investigator, Jim Carlin, agrees with Clifford and says that circumstantial evidence points in one direction.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Christopher Luke Pratt killed Mary Denise Lands," Carlin said.

Pratt was involved with Lands when she disappeared, and allegedly described a jacket she was wearing when she left the Walden Pond Condos, a jacket that Carlin says Pratt sold only months later.

Lands' daughter, Stacy, also suspects Pratt, and talked to Carlin during his investigations.

Pratt has never been charged or connected to the case by police, but Carlin and Clifford hope a new prosecutor can take a fresh look at the case.

"The other alternative really is, if we had to wait another year for the AG to grab this up and just look at the case themselves, and let them charge Mr. Pratt," said Carlin.

Clifford also wrote to the attorney general, asking for their help investigating the case and the Marshall Police Department, citing conflicts and mishaps during the case.

That letter isn't an issue for Sgt. Scott McDonald or the Marshall Police Department.

"I don't want to get in a debate over the letter and its contents," Sgt. McDonald said, "certainly if the AG wants to discuss that with us, I'm open for discussion. They're obviously very hurt their daughter is missing, they can't bring closure to that, certainly I understand that."

Sgt. Scott McDonald believes Mary Lands was killed, but wouldn't comment on Chris Pratt as a suspect, though he insists the case is open.

"I have not ruled anybody out," Sgt. McDonald said.

Despite all the tension around the case, there is one thing everybody agrees on, that the mystery is maddening.

"I think it gets tougher as the years go on,' Clifford said, "we would like to find her and put her to rest."

Clifford Marshall told Newschannel 3 that he is expecting a letter from the attorney general's office by the end of the week.