Michigan's Otherside Paranormal Forums

Ok folks...this is really disturbing. A Pere Cheney enthusists emailed me this story. It looks like there's a gunman on the loose at Pere Cheney shooting at people he doesn't want by the cemetery. Here's a blurb from the local news from there:

October 19, 2009

A man who didn't want teenagers hanging out in a cemetery decided to take matters into his own hands.
The man had a shotgun and the Crawford County Sheriff says he shot it both in the air and at a car.
This happened Friday night at the Pere Cheney Cemetery in Beaver Creek township ... Just south of Grayling.
9 and 10's Michelle Dunaway has more on the search for a suspect.

This type of incident seems to be happening more and more and it's very disturbing.

Where I can understand where he's coming from, that is NOT the best way to go about it. If anyone damaged my car, I'd make sure they were paying to get it fixed. This is one reason why you don't always take the law into your own hands.

This may sound extremely out of hand...but I'm more worried about the deer being shot.

ok ok...not really...but I hate that they sniped off deer in Lake Forest..for the express reason that I like to go there and take pics of those deer in the cemetery. They make for amazing shots. But yeah...don't shoot me!
Tom better take some long range mace on his hikes !LOL

Well you need to remember people are nuts. He may have came out to the cemetery and saw how much more destroyed it was from the last time he was there and snapped. I think what will end up happening is either they will plow it under and sell it off like they have done at other old cemeteries or you will start seeing police telling people to leave. Every time you go there you can find litter, beer cans all over, broken liquor bottles, people take a dump in the cemetery and the parking area, its disgusting.
Now most of the people that go there do it for good reasons, its the handful of idiots that probably set this guy off. Hopefully he won't be back, he may have thought about it and is keeping a low profile. I would think if he is from up around here they should catch him as they have a description of his truck, a blue lifted four wheel drive. Taking the law into your own hands isn't the right thing to do.

well here is the official write up about it in a local paper from up there.

Man fires shotgun at teens in area legendary cemetery
by Dan Sanderson-Staff Writer

Police are seeking tips that will lead to the arrest of a man who brandished and fired a shotgun at a group of teens in the Pere Cheney Cemetery, which is in a Crawford County ghost town, a legend for ghost stories and sought out paranormal researchers.

Crawford County Sheriff Kirk Wakefield said at 10:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16, a group of teenagers were gathered at the Pere Cheney Cemetery, located in Beaver Creek Township.

A white male subject confronted the teenagers, possibly in his 50's with gray hair and a full gray beard. The subject was described as approximately six foot tall with a "hefty" build. The subject brandished a shotgun and threatened the teenagers, telling them to leave the area.

The man did fire several rounds from the shotgun over the heads of the teens, but no one was injured in the exchange. Damage was sustained by one of the teenager's vehicles, when it was shot in the rear as they fled the area.

The suspect's vehicle is described as an older full-size pickup with a lift kit and was described as a possible dark blue or black in color. The make or model is unknown.

Troopers from Houghton Lake Post of the Michigan State Police and officers from the Grayling City Police Department assisted the Crawford County Sheriff's Deputies.

The Crawford Sheriff's Office is the investigating agency for this incident. Anyone with any information in regards to this incident, which has been labeled as case 20-3833-09, is asked to contact the Crawford County Sheriff's Office Tip Line at (989) 348-4616.

Wakefield said that deputies went through the surrounding area over the weekend and have taken in some evidence.

"I just think it's pretty stupid to shoot at a bunch of teens," Wakefield said. "One could look at this as attempted murder. If someone wants to play those type of games, I'll guess I'll see them in court."

Pere Cheney was once a small lumbering town in Crawford County, west of Grayling. The town got its start in 1870 when lumbermen following the railroads set up camp. Soon, the town had a school, grocery store, and post office and was the county seat for Crawford County. Thirty years later, the timber industry in the area moved on and the area didn't offer much in the way of supporting a thriving town. In the early 1900's, only 18 people were living in Pere Cheney. It was declared a ghost town in 1913-14. The only remnants left of this town are a small cemetery and some old holes in the ground where buildings once stood. Sickness such as scarlet fever and smallpox took the lives of many people, including children, during the few decades Pere Cheney was in existence. This fact has given fuel to the legends of Pere Cheney.

Commonly heard stories told about Pere Cheney include: the ground is cursed by a witch or Native Americans; the town was killed off by sickness and then rebuilt again and again; a fire ravaged the entire town; mass burials are all over Pere Cheney; and bad luck follows people if they take something from the town.

Wakefield said the Crawford County Sheriff Office has investigated complaints ranging from people vandalizing the cemetery to people pulling pranks to scare their peers in the Pere Cheney area.

"We have had a ton of complaints over the years," said Wakefield, who encouraged people to stay out of the cemetery. "There's always something going in the Pere Cheney Cemetery."