Search efforts to find Jacob Cabinaw, a local man and Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians’ member, were renewed April 4, which is the day he was first reported missing 15 years ago.
Cabinaw was 31-years-old and a father to two boys who were the ages 6 and 12 when he went missing. He was also a member of the Michigan National Guard and was due to graduate with his mechanic certification in two weeks. He was employed as a mechanic and had been starting the process to possibly purchase a home.
The Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office has continued over the years to investigate the unsolved missing person case with the goal to let the family know they will never forget their loved one.
To help in the search, the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office has received assistance from VICAP, otherwise known as the F.B.I. Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. VICAP assists law enforcement to track and correlate information on violent crime, and has been a tool in solving many cases, including missing person cases decades old and cases in widely separated states.
According to authorities, in April 2010, after family and friends had not heard from Cabinaw for a few days, they reported him as a Missing Person. The last contact with Cabinaw in Northern Michigan was on March 31, 2010, when he was with friends frisbee golfing at Hickory Hills in Traverse City.
Various sources have also indicated that Cabinaw was seen in Mattawan, Michigan on April 1, 2010 driving his silver 2002 Chevy Malibu, which had a Michigan license plate number of BKQ4107. Cabinaw was last seen on April 2, 2010 in West Fork, Arkansas. No information was identified that this was a planned trip. Information was gathered in 2017 that Cabinaw’s vehicle may have been associated with a scrap yard in Mexico.
Cabinaw is approximately 5’11”, and was 150 lbs. at the time of his disappearance. He was last seen wearing dark blue jeans, a blue coat, his work jacket which is grey and has the words “Dave’s Garage” printed on it, and brown work boots. If people have information related to the missing person case of Jacob Cabinaw, please call detective Jason Polzien at 231995-5039 or 231-995-5012.
