HURON — Next week will be 23 years since Regina Rowe Hicks was found dead in a pond in Huron County. But her family hasn’t given up trying to find out what happened.
“It was like ripping a piece of your insides out and you aren’t going to get that back,” said Chad Rowe, Regina’s younger brother.
Chad has been seeking closure for his sister’s death since he received a phone call that changed his life forever.
“Her estranged husband, Paul Hicks, called me and told me they think she’s in the pond,” Chad said.
In 2001 Regina Rowe Hicks went missing in Huron County while on the way to pick up her son. Her family searched for her until she was found four days later. Regina’s body was found in the passenger seat of her car in a pond near Townline Road 12 and Section Line Road 30 in Huron County. The autopsy showed bruising on her head.
Authorities didn't think it was an accident and opened a murder investigation.
“It was hard on everybody, but it really hurt my mom really bad because she couldn't get justice, and she did everything in her power to get justice,” Chad said.
For 10 years their mom, Lacella Holbrook, spent thousands of dollars on billboards, rewards up to 20,000 dollars, newspaper ads to keep people talking about the case and conducting her own interviews with alleged witnesses on her daughter’s death.
“She went to thousands of cases at the courthouse and got to know a lot of different people. She would talk to different people, and she lost a lot of sleep and lot of energy from it. Eventually, it emotionally and physically killed her. My mom ended up getting cancer and passing away, and then the case just kind of went to the wayside," Chad said.
He says he hasn’t heard many updates from authorities over the years but believes they dropped the ball from the very start.
“I think they dropped the ball because of [how] it went from the beginning and [how] it's still going because Willard PD was out there, and it was out of their jurisdiction. They shouldn't even have been out there stomping around and then after they got done stomping around, they called the Huron County Sheriff Department. And I just think they've just fumbled around with it, and they didn't really care,” said Chad.
With no strong leads or insight from authorities, the case remained cold and for over two decades, the family has lived with one question: “who killed Regina?”
Now, local community activist and podcaster Ashli Ford wants to help find out.
“I wanted to see if we could get some attention to a cold case that definitely deserves justice,” Ford said.
In the past, Ford has worked on cold rape cases and with the family's blessing, she did several episodes about Regina’s case on her podcast —which is watched by many people. She started conducting her own interviews and requesting information from local authorities.
"Reading through the mom's notes is so hard because I’m a mom, and she tried so hard getting justice. To know that she died, never getting justice and she worked so hard, and she was so close. I started where she stopped, and I mean, it's almost there.” Ford said.
After Ford's podcast aired, Chad says the Bureau of Criminal Investigation visited his home for the first time in a while, giving him a sense of hope.
“I’m hoping within the next year or so, we can get it all solved and get the right people that need to be in jail, in jail,” Chad said.
And finish what their Mom started.
“She would probably hug and kiss Ashli on the cheek, she's probably smiling now,” said Chad.
Chad says he’s never going to give up on finding out who is responsible for his sister’s death and is grateful Ford has helped bring attention to the 23-year-old case.
“I didn't know Regina, but I have this amazing platform, and I ask Facebook the questions and all these people, they're willing to help. And if they're willing to help me, they're willing to help the police. And there's so many that are willing to help, I think we can solve it,” said Ford.
News 5 reached out to BCI for updates, and they said the investigation is ongoing.
"I'll never give up, it's going to happen somehow, someway, somebody's going to say something," said Chad.
