LEELANAU COUNTY, MI – Police believe a body found in Leelanau County may be related to an ongoing missing person investigation by the Traverse City Police Department.
The body, identified as a female in her late 50s to early 70s, was found around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday in a field near Kasson Center and South Newman roads south of Maple City.
The body has been transported to the Western Michigan University School of Medicine in Kalamazoo for an autopsy. The name of the women will be released later Thursday, police said.
The Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office, Michigan State Police and the Traverse City Police Department have been treating the discovery as a homicide investigation.
According to police, the entire investigative process has been difficult due to single digit temperatures, high winds and blowing snow in the area.
The Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office, Grand Traverse Band Tribal Police Department and the Cedar Area Fire and Rescue Department also assisted at the scene.
Anyone with information related to this investigation are asked to call the Leelanau County Dispatch Center at 231-256-8800, the Traverse City Police Department at 231-995-5150 or the Michigan State Police at 989-619-5423.