Investigation continues into discovery of dead man, wrecked SUV in Ann Arbor
Police are waiting for the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's Office to release the name of the man found dead outside this vehicle last week.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
Ann Arbor police Lt. Renee Bush said Thursday the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s Office is still working to confirm the man's identity. Police told AnnArbor.com last week the man had been identified as a 29-year-old Ann Arbor man and family notification was pending.
Bush said Thursday the medical examiner has more work to do.
“We have not heard back from the medical examiner regarding the fatal (crash on Plymouth Road),” she said.
City workers who were replacing a missing fire hydrant found the man on Oct. 25 near the vehicle when they were searching for the old hydrant. The man appeared to have been in the area in the 1600 block of Plymouth Road next to the Penske Rental Truck for quite some time.
Police on scene on Oct. 25 were unable to immediately determine the gender of the person due to the state of the body. At this point, police are not releasing any information regarding how the man ended up in the ditch or how long he was there.
Members of the man’s family have commented on previous AnnArbor.com stories about the crash and have spoken to AnnArbor.com. However, they have asked AnnArbor.com to not publish any remarks they have made until the medical examiner’s office has completed their investigation. AnnArbor.com has chosen to respect the family’s wishes. The family has also not revealed the man's name.
Dr. Jeff Jentzen, Washtenaw County chief medical examiner, said earlier this week he would release information related to the case when it is available.
The Santa Fe was found in a heavily wooded area next to the Penske building, where reeds had grown to be between 6 and 10 feet tall. Investigators said it was impossible to see into the area from a nearby window in the Penske building.
Police had to call in the Ann Arbor Forestry Department in order to remove plants and trees just to get to the man and the vehicle to investigate and remove the body and vehicle. Initial investigation showed the Santa Fe had been traveling east on Plymouth Road when it ran off the road and crashed.
The Santa Fe was heavily damaged on nearly all sides and was found resting on the driver’s side. The man's body was lying 50 to 75 feet from the road, police said.
There were no traffic cameras in the area of the crash, police said.
Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to call the Ann Arbor police anonymous tip line at 734-794-6939 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK UP (773-2587).
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Purple
Fri, Nov 2, 2012 : 12:17 p.m.
I will continue to pray for everyone affected by this situations.
Steve Borgsdorf
Fri, Nov 2, 2012 : 10:41 a.m.
A person goes missing, the family searches and files a police report, and their remains are found by accident six weeks later. The trail includes a wrecked fire hydrant. How could this happen? Many comments to the story are concerned with whether the identity of the victim is "our" business. I applaud A2.com (and the feisty commenters) for respecting the family's privacy. The identity of the victim does not change the scope of the tragedy; public disclosure of the victim's identity even less so. But holding the AAPD acountable to handle missing person reports properly (and even holding the City accountable for the whereabouts of its fire hydrants) IS our business. At least part of this story involves asking the AAPD hard questions about how this could happen to ANY family.
jen777
Fri, Nov 2, 2012 : 9:26 a.m.
The family involved has asked for privacy right now and it is respectful to honor that, the other implication some comments make is that there was a bungled investigation in missing person search. we do not know that yet and should not jump to conclusions. as indicated it was possible to not notice where the car left the road, probably going airborne. do not jump to conclusions without information. at some time, the information will be released.
DKing87
Fri, Nov 2, 2012 : 5 a.m.
@ Elouise - Unless you are missing a family member that fits the description, you don't NEED anything. BRAVO Elouise! Some people feed off of bad news and demand that they have the right to know everything. Kyle you are right to respect the privacy of the family and the individual until law enforcement has investigated this. Perhaps some of the nosey people on this blog should start asking more questions of our President (and the enabling news media) about why four Americans were killed in Benghazi and few media outlets want to report on it. That atrocity is something worth demanding information about. Where are our priorities?
PineyWoodsGuy
Fri, Nov 2, 2012 : 4:59 a.m.
Most probably, there are valid reasons for not releasing the information. It is Under Investigation! There is a Reason for it being "Under Investigation." Don't yins "Get It"? If I were a Prof of Journalism, I would print-out all these Reader Posts and utilize them for a "hand-out" to my class to engender vigorous discussion. This particular case goes to the Responsibility of those that choose to follow the career of "Journalism." Personally, I offer a "pat on the back" to the Journalists at aa.com for their forebearance on this case.
two canoes
Fri, Nov 2, 2012 : 12:19 a.m.
I think we are all concerned because it could happen to any one of us and we want to understand what happened. A number of years ago, during winter, a vehicle went off Geddes Road, down a ditch. It was only by accident that another driver saw a glint of metal and reported it. 3 of the 4 people in the vehicle were killed. I drove that way often, it was a steep hill to a ditch and on a curve. Drivers are looking at the road, not off the road. This kind of accident strikes fear in all of us, for ourselves and others. We all need to be more observant.
Elouise
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 10:22 p.m.
I'm incredibly tired of people ranting that they NEED answers and that they NEED a name for this person. Unles you are missing a family member that fits the description, you don't NEED anything. And if that was the case, the Internet news page is NOT the place to find answers, it's the police station. What you people NEED is something else to care about, something else to talk about. YOUR NOSEYNESS IS NOT A NEED!!!
Eep
Fri, Nov 2, 2012 : 1:41 a.m.
This isn't about being nosey, and it isn't even about any real need to know the specific name of the victim. The problem here is that the reporter knows the name and isn't releasing it. Normally, when people die in accidents, their names are reported - not all of the details about the accident and not all of the detail about their personal lives or business, but their name. It's unhealthy for our community when the reporters who are supposed to be helping us keep our public officials honest collude with those officials to hide information - no matter what the reason. It just isn't the proper role of the press to hide information, especially under circumstances like this where the victim's family members have made public allegations that the police mishandled the investigation.
Elouise
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 11:35 p.m.
My apologies for misspelling two words. They were both keyboard errors. I should clean it. After that, it won't happen again. But I do like the fact that you read every single word of mine! Thanks!
Elouise
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 11:17 p.m.
I do like to be aware of my surroundings and the happenings within them. I do not, however, feel the NEED to know every little detail, including a name. If it does not affect me significantly, then I do not NEED to know, as with many folks on here. I am truly saddened at this situation, as I drive past Penske several times a day. Makes me feel a little helpless, and I wish there was something I could have done. Any information I could have been given to help find this man sooner is NEEDED information.
justcurious
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 11:05 p.m.
Why are you reading the comments? Or why did you read the article. People are only human and not perfect.
KJMClark
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 8:03 p.m.
I bike to work by there every weekday, and have a co-worker who bikes on the sidewalk right there just about every work day. I vaguely recall seeing some torn-up grass there a while ago, but I see stuff like that all over town and just assume there was a minor crash and it was taken care of, unless you can see some kind of evidence that it happened recently. The problem in this case may be that the tall grasses growing there are tall, very flexible, grow quickly, and make it impossible to see past them. Those are the same kinds of grasses that were hiding the railroad embankment on Plymouth near Broadway (Lowertown) that washed out last year. I'd biked and driven by that area for years and had no idea what it looked like back there because the grasses covered the view so well. Given the damage to the vehicle, it probably went airborne for a bit as it went off the road (there is a good drop from Plymouth to the ditch), went through those grasses, and the grasses just bent out of the way and popped back up. Those of us going by may have seen a bit of torn-up sod, but nothing else, and assumed it was just a minor crash that was cleaned up. Spooky and sad to think the crash was there for a long time and no one knew.
Ann English
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 11:30 p.m.
That's what I was thinking: hit a curb hard enough, you go airborne.
justcurious
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 10:17 p.m.
Obviously a possibility, but a body lying outside a vehicle for six weeks would certainly produce an odor. He was lying just 50 feet or so from the building that people were coming to.
the other guy
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 8 p.m.
Can't you even note the approximate date of the accident? Now that the victim is known, although not publically identified, they should be able to at least determine the date of the accident from things such as work and cell phone records, etc. Why won''t you or the AAPD release it?....that fact certainly won't divulge any damaging information.
justcurious
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 9:37 p.m.
I don't know if this will get deleted but a person who said they were a family member said the missing man had been missing for six weeks. That was their comment on a previous story about this sad case.
FrankOZ
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 5:46 p.m.
To imply that people saw bits of wreckage, skid marks and damage to vegetation and choose to ignore them is ridiculous. This was a horrible accident. I feel for the family and I understand lashing out at the city/police/passers-by because of the pain being felt, but I know if anyone thought someone was back there suffering they would have helped. This area does not have a ton of pedestrian traffic and I drive by there nearly every day and didn't notice anything unusual. I wish the family peace and hope they find some solace in knowing their loved one has been found.
justcurious
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 6:01 p.m.
FrankOZ, I don't see anyone implying that at all here. Where do you get that idea? I do find it odd that there were not marks on the landscaping that would show where the vehicle left the road at high speed. It would have had to go over the curb which would probably cause it to bounce.
elganned
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 5:17 p.m.
I haven't been to the area, but I don't quite understand how a vehicle that large showing that much damage can have run off the road into an overgrown wooded area without leaving a clear trail of destruction. But nobody noticed the torn up vegetation when it happened? That's extremely puzzling to me.
doglover
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 7:51 p.m.
The big question in my mind is when did it happen? Depending on the state of growth of the brush and the dryness of the soil, the path of destruction might not have been too noticeable.
Carol Corrao
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 7:01 p.m.
I drive past it almost every day. this morning i really looked; there is nothing there to indicate there was ever a crash. I didn't even realize there was a ditch back there. It was a freak accident and situation, and a terrible one for the man who died and the people who love him.
Kyle Mattson
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 6:09 p.m.
elganned- Here is a link to the Google Streetview of where the vehicle was found: http://goo.gl/maps/jEzNR It is the patch of woods behind the light pole on the west side of Pointe Lane.
justcurious
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 5:13 p.m.
Yes, thanks for updating us on this sad story. I hope the family will be able to find some peace and get some answers in all of this.
Steve Borgsdorf
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 5:12 p.m.
A2dotcom you don't work for the police department, and you don't work for the family. You are a news organization and your task is to find and report facts about news. This is news. We need facts. Have you tried to FOIA or otherwise obtain the missing persons report? How about the reports related to the fire hydrant repair? Any interviews with the employees at Penske rental? Hoping that the police will give you something to print might not be adequate.
Kyle Mattson
Fri, Nov 2, 2012 : 12:39 p.m.
I understand your perspective GoNavy; however, if we do not provide regular updates we get mass amounts of emails, calls, and questions regarding the case. As a result we try to make ever effort to update anytime we have some type of information which can help readers better understand the situation.
GoNavy
Fri, Nov 2, 2012 : 12:06 p.m.
I agree with Steve Borgsdorf, and Eep in this case. AnnArbor.com is not providing residents of this city with anything that cannot literally be observed on the street. We don't need a community newsletter here, we'd like a newspaper - complete with "investigative reporting." What we have not gotten a thing in that regard. Nothing on people who *might* have gone missing at some point. Nothing on the owner of the vehicle. On the one hand, the article states: "Ann Arbor police Lt. Renee Bush said Thursday the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner's Office is still working to confirm the man's identity. Police told AnnArbor.com last week the man had been identified as a 29-year-old Ann Arbor man and family notification was pending." Which is it? Is the Office working to confirm the man's identity, or has the man been identified and the family notified? Later in the article, we see that the family has been notified, and that apparently AnnArbor.com has spoken with them. If that's the case, how can "family notification" still be pending? It doesn't make any sense. I've mentioned it before, and I'll say it again: If you don't have anything *of note* to bring to readers, leave it alone. It's simply gratuitous to fill your empty pages with ongoing, "no-new-facts-news" parading as "news". There are other stories out there - go investigate those if you don't want to investigate this one.
grimmk
Fri, Nov 2, 2012 : 4:38 a.m.
Steve, you sound like an intelligent person. I'm sure you can come up with a few scenarios that could have lead to this terrible accident. Maybe the driver swerved to miss a deer? He reached for something and took his eyes off the road and over corrected. But what does it matter? The end result is the same. Shame on you. The family have their right to privacy and the cops don't owe you anything. Now if you were doing this out of concern that you might KNOW the person then we'd all be more understanding, but you just want a thrill. I'm sure we'd all like to know, and we will, in time.
Key
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 10:19 p.m.
You want facts, you don't need facts. You want to understand how this happened, it is highly unlikely that you need to understand how this happened. I'm with elganned, chill out.
Steve Borgsdorf
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 9:09 p.m.
My concern is not about the identity of the person. My concern is that that a person is missing in Ann Arbor for six weeks, and their deceased remains are found by accident. This despite the fact that (apparently, based on the comments to the story) a police report was filed and the family actively searched for the person. In order to understand how this happened, it would be helpful to understand what did happen. You don't need to divulge any information about the victim or the family to find out and report, and illuminate, this very tragic situation.
Kyle Feldscher
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 8:18 p.m.
Steve - I see Kyle has already jumped in and replied, but I wanted to respond to you about the FOIA point. I will FOIA this police report once it's finished. However, the report is not FOIAble until the investigation is complete. Any FOIA requests will be denied until the report is done. The missing persons report would be a part of that report.
treetowncartel
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 7:37 p.m.
What do you want, pictures of the corpse next to the car as the lead story? I'm glad A2.com is showing some restraint here and respecting the family and their wishes. I always get apalled, and this the staff here knows, when they show pictures of vehicles shortly after an accident that someone has died in.
Kyle Mattson
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 6:58 p.m.
Eep that is not true. Kyle reached to the family but they did not provide the individual's name.
ypsituckian
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 6:29 p.m.
You must be very worried about somebody close to you! I hope the newspaper gives you the name of the deceased soon so you can rest easier when you find out you didn't know the person who died.
Nunya
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 6:13 p.m.
Brimble. Don't waste your time trying to reason with the einsteins on this site. It's pointless
Eep
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 6:09 p.m.
@Kyle - You don't know the name of the person whose body was found. You do, however, know the name of the person who was reported missing - Kyle said that he spoke with that person's family, and the family members have been leaving comments on the earlier stories about this incident.
Kyle Mattson
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 5:57 p.m.
Steve/Eep- Kyle is in the courtroom right now so I'll reply on this behalf. We do not know the name of the individual at this time. The confirmed known facts to date have been provided, and we will publish an update as more information becomes available.
brimble
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 5:28 p.m.
Let's just say -- hypothetically -- that the police were in the midst of an investigation which involves foul play, and that the investigation might be compromised were the victim's identity made public. Let's say that the police and the family each asked for a delay on that basis. If that -- imagined on my part -- scenario were the case, holding back in the face of our curiosity is well-justified. We don't know what we don't know.
Eep
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 5:22 p.m.
A2dotcom may not know the dead man's identity to an absolute certainty, but they do know the name of the person who was reported missing and they do know the name of the owner of the car (the same person who was reported missing). Now that the family has been notified - and has even spoken with a reporter from A2dotcom - there is absolutely no reason for A2dotcom to refuse to report the name of the missing person. It's understandable that they might not report every detail they have out of respect for the family - responsible journalists can certainly make judgments regarding the public's need to know vs privacy of non-public figures vs simple morbid curiousity - but these factors just can't balance in favor of keeping the name a secret six days after the incident was first reported. A member of our community has been reported missing and a body and a wrecked vehicle have been found - this is a matter of public concern and the name, if nothing else, should be reported.
elganned
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 5:18 p.m.
This isn't a Congressional inquiry, Steve. Information will be released when it's released. Chill out.
ffej440
Thu, Nov 1, 2012 : 4:08 p.m.
Thanks Kyle- Even if nothing more can be added, at least we know why.