The Latest: Not guilty plea for man in woman's disappearance

MUSKEGON, Mich. – The Latest on charges filed in the 2013 disappearance of a gas station clerk in western Michigan (all times local):

4:35 p.m.

A not guilty plea has been entered on behalf of a man charged with kidnapping and killing a gas station clerk who disappeared from her job in western Michigan in 2013.

Jeffrey Willis appeared at a brief hearing in a Muskegon County court, hours after charges were announced Tuesday. He was accompanied by a lawyer and didn't speak to the judge.

Willis is charged in the disappearance of 25-year-old Jessica Heeringa, whose body hasn't been found. He's also facing charges in two more local cases: the fatal shooting of a 36-year-old female jogger in 2014 and the attempted abduction of a 16-year-old girl in April.

The girl escaped from Willis' van, an incident that brought him to the attention of police and energized the Heeringa investigation.

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12:05 p.m.

Authorities have charged a man with murder in the 2013 disappearance of a gas station clerk in western Michigan.

Jessica Heeringa disappeared from the gas station where she worked in Norton Shores, near Muskegon. The body of the 25-year-old woman hasn't been found. Investigators weren't able to break the mystery until Jeffrey Willis was arrested in May in a different case.

Willis was charged Tuesday with kidnapping and murder. He's already awaiting trial in two more cases in Muskegon County: the fatal shooting of a 36-year-old female jogger in 2014 and the attempted abduction of a teenage girl in April.

The Associated Press has left a message seeking comment from his lawyer.

Police said they found rope, handcuffs and syringes in Willis' van when they arrested him in the spring.