In Loving Memory of Amanda Everitt and the Victims of a Devastating Tragedy
With profound sadness, the community is mourning the loss of 39-year-old Amanda Everitt and five others following a devastating act of violence that shattered the peace of a rural community in northern Michigan.
What began on a Friday morning with a desperate call for help from a wounded 13-year-old child quickly became a heartbreaking and deeply unsettling tragedy. Around 11:40 a.m., the child managed to call 911, bringing emergency responders toward a home near LaChance and Kelly roads in Lake Township.
When state troopers arrived, they encountered a scene that no community should ever have to face. Three people had lost their lives from gunshot wounds, while another victim was found critically injured. Paramedics immediately rushed the surviving victim to a nearby hospital, where medical teams worked to provide lifesaving care.
Among those who lost their lives was Amanda Everitt.
Amanda’s passing has left relatives, friends, neighbors, and everyone who knew her struggling to understand how such a terrible tragedy could happen in a place known for its quiet roads, farmland, and close-knit neighbors. People familiar with the area have described it as a peaceful farming community where neighbors look out for one another and where residents often feel safe enough to leave their doors unlocked.
That sense of security was suddenly replaced by fear and heartbreak.
As authorities secured the first property and began working to determine what had happened, investigators quickly learned that the tragedy extended beyond a single location. Troopers searching nearby properties discovered another deceased victim inside a second home.
The community was now facing a rapidly unfolding emergency involving multiple victims and a suspect believed to be moving through the countryside.
Authorities identified the suspected shooter as 39-year-old Chad Hickman, who was Amanda Everitt’s brother and lived nearby in Jennings.
Law enforcement immediately issued emergency warnings to residents, urging people to remain indoors, secure their homes, and avoid the area while officers searched for the suspect. Tactical officers, tracking dogs, and police helicopters were deployed as authorities worked to locate Hickman and the white pickup truck associated with him.
The search eventually led officers toward a remote, wooded area of Caldwell Township near Whitlock Lake.
There, troopers located Hickman’s truck parked near a tree line. Officers proceeded into the woods, where they discovered two additional bodies. Investigators identified one of those deceased individuals as Hickman and another as a sixth victim.
For the families who lost loved ones, the numbers and details cannot begin to capture the magnitude of the pain.
Each person who died had a life, a family, memories, friendships, hopes, and people who cared deeply about them. Behind every name is a family now facing an empty chair, an unanswered phone call, a familiar voice that will never again be heard in the same way, and memories that will become even more precious with time.
For Amanda Everitt’s loved ones, the grief is especially profound.
Amanda was more than a name connected to a heartbreaking news story. She was a daughter, sister, relative, friend, neighbor, and a person whose life mattered to those around her. Her sudden passing has created a void that cannot easily be described.
The circumstances surrounding her death make the loss even harder for those who knew and loved her. No family should ever have to receive news that someone they love has been taken from them in such a sudden and devastating way.
As investigators continued working to understand what led to the violence, residents across the area were left shaken. A place that had long been associated with quiet country living was suddenly the center of a massive law enforcement response.
Neighbors gathered together, checked on one another, and offered support to grieving families. Friends and community members came together over the weekend, sharing prayers, memories, and words of comfort for those struggling with the unimaginable loss.
There was also concern and hope for the sole surviving victim, who remained hospitalized in critical condition. As family members waited and prayed for signs of recovery, the community stood behind them, hoping for strength and healing during an incredibly difficult time.
The tragedy has reminded many residents of how quickly life can change. A peaceful Friday morning became a day that families and an entire county will never forget.
People who have lived in the area for decades have said they have never experienced anything like this. The violence touched multiple locations and left six people dead, forever changing the lives of their families and friends.
In the days ahead, those who loved Amanda and the other victims will have to face the difficult process of grieving. Grief does not follow a schedule. It arrives in waves—in quiet moments, in familiar places, in photographs, in memories, and in the simple realization that someone who was once part of everyday life is suddenly gone.
May those who knew Amanda find comfort in the memories they shared with her.
May her family find strength in the love surrounding them.
May the families of all six victims receive compassion, support, and peace as they navigate the days ahead.
And may the surviving victim receive every possible measure of care, strength, and hope during their fight to recover.
The community may never be the same after this tragedy, but the lives of those who were lost will not be forgotten. Their names and memories will remain with the people who loved them and with the community that now mourns alongside their families.
In loving memory of Amanda Everitt and the five other victims whose lives were taken.
May they be remembered not only for the circumstances surrounding their deaths, but for the lives they lived, the people they loved, the memories they created, and the impact they had on those around them.
May their families find comfort in one another.
May their friends continue to speak their names.
May their memories remain alive.
And may peace eventually find those who are now carrying a grief that words cannot fully express.
Rest peacefully, Amanda. You will not be forgotten.
Leave a Reply