Charlevoix, MI Home Connected to JonBenet Ramsey Hidden by Google

It's been nearly 30 years since JonBenet Ramsey's body was found in the basement of her parents', John and Patsy, basement. The case has reemerged and piqued the curiosity of a whole new generation of true crime junkies while also bringing to light a lot of details from the case that were glossed over in the initial coverage, which began on December 26, 1996, when Patsy Ramsey called 911 to report her daughter had been kidnapped. But did you know that the Ramsey family intended to leave that morning for their vacation home in Charlevoix, Michigan?

The new Netflix series Cold Case: Who Killed Jon Benet Ramsey, in addition to Ashley Flowers' Crime Junkies podcast, both went into deeper detail about the planned trip to their 2nd home in Michigan, falling short of giving an address. I will not be providing one either, though it wasn't difficult to find at all. However, while finding the address was easy enough, seeing it on Google Earth proved impossible.

Google Earth Hides Ramsey's Former 2nd Home

Google Earth / Canva

The image above is a screenshot from Google Earth. The teal color represents where Google's Street View is available, allowing you to see photos taken down to the physical address. The Ramsey's former home, however, is unavailable. Here's a closer look:

Google Earth / Canva

The teal lines represent where Google Earth provides Street View, which is taken by the Google Cars you see occasionally traversing Michigan streets, snapping 360-degree photos constantly. As you can see in the above screenshot, Street View is available for the majority of Charlevoix, with the exception of a nearly block radius surrounding the red point, which designates the location of the Ramsey's former Michigan home, which they sold in March of 1999, according to the Daily Camera.

Why—how was the home omitted from Google's omnipresent cameras? The search giant does blur locations, but for it to be omitted entirely, the homeowner needs to request it be removed. According to Maptive, once Google accepts a blurring or omission request, it's permanent, even if the property is sold and the new owners want to be included.

Google Earth / Canva

So, was it Google or a new owner who was tired of their home being an attraction who removed the location? My money is on the latter. This home was the focus of the JonBenet Ramsey case on two occasions by the Boulder, Colorado investigators, who searched the home looking for samples of Patsy Ramsey's handwriting, attempting to match it to the ransom note.

While national interest is once again shedding the spotlight on the JonBenet cold case, it's fascinating and disheartening to know a Charlevoix, Michigan, home played a part in this unsolved murder.