Search For Missing Woman Called Off After Body Found

UPDATE:

The Macomb County Sheriff's Office released the following statement Saturday afternoon: "The body of Michelle DeGrace was discovered at 12:55 p.m. by search crews in Washington Township today. Her body was located behind a home in a wooded area near the Quail Ridge Subdivision. Sheriff’s Office investigators are working with the Macomb County Medical Examiner's Office at this time."

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Nearly 200 people mobilized Saturday morning at Romeo High School to help the Macomb County Sheriff’s Department search for a missing 40-year-old Shelby Township woman.

The volunteers are aiding the Sheriff’s Department in their second

DeGrace’s blood-stained vehicle was found abandoned—with her purse and keys still inside—on the north side of 31 Mile and Campground roads in Washington Township around 6:30 a.m. Friday.

Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said he believes DeGrace was injured, but was able to walk away from the vehicle.

The search group, comprised of family members, sheriff’s department reserves and concerned citizens, are helping officials scour the empty fields and subdivisions near where DeGrace’s 1999 Dodge Concord was found.

“With the amount of people we have searching and the amount of territory we’re covering, I can say we’re doing a thorough search,” said Wickersham.

The search territory area has been divided up and is being tackled by small groups, directed by Macomb County deputies, several reserve deputies and the volunteers.

Mary Cratsenburg is a Romeo resident who does not know DeGrace. She said she wanted to help in the search because she would hope the community would do the same if a member of her family was missing.

DeGrace’s Disappearance Remains A Mystery

Friends and family members said they were baffled by DeGrace’s disappearance.

“She wouldn’t just up and leave her kids and her friends. She was very close to her friends,” said DeGrace’s friend Tami Bliss.

DeGrace’s best friend, Ann Bowan, told Patch that DeGrace had made plans with her Thursday evening for Friday afternoon.

Bowan said she was told the stay-at-home mother of two young girls went to bed with her husband around 10 p.m. Thursday. DeGrace's vehicle was found nearly seven miles away at 6:30 a.m. Friday when a passer-by reported seeing the abandoned vehicle on the side of the road.

“We don’t know what happened in that time,” said Bowan, who added that it was unlikely that DeGrace would make plans with her if she had planned to do something to herself.

When police called the registered owner of the vehicle, DeGrace’s husband, Friday morning, he had already reported her and the vehicle missing to the Shelby Township Police Department.

“It just makes no sense that this is happening,” said Robin Folley, who has been friends with DeGrace since high school.

The Shelby Township police department confiscated DeGrace’s personal computer Friday. Wickersham said they are looking for emails or information that may help them solve her mysterious disappearance.

DeGrace is described as about 5 feet 3 inches tall and 150 pounds, with blond hair and hazel eyes.

Anyone who may have seen DeGrace walking in the area, or picked her up, is asked to call the Macomb County Sheriff’s Department at 586-469-5151.