An 82-year old Michigan man, accused of killing his wife in 1975, will voluntarily return to Door County to face charges. Richard Gale Pierce of Cheboygan, Michigan signed a waiver of extradition at a court hearing Thursday. Carol Jean Pierce was 35 years old when she disappeared from the couple’s mobile home in Sturgeon Bay 43 years ago. Her husband, Richard, a member of the US Coast Guard at the time, told law enforcement that he last saw his wife on the morning of September 8th, 1975. He said said when he returned home that afternoon, she was gone. Her body was never found. For decades, the Sturgeon Bay Police Department has believed that Richard Pierce had the motive, means and opportunity to take her life. In an interesting twist, the case will be prosecuted by Door County District Attorney Colleen Nordin, daughter of the late Michael Nordin, former Sturgeon Bay Police Chief, who was certain a murder had been committed, but did not have not enough evidence to pass the case on to a court hearing.
