Police Dig: Macomb County Gravesite May Hold Missing Girl, Others

MACOMB TOWNSHIP, MI — Wednesday marks the third day that authorities have been digging for bodies in Macomb Township, looking for clues in a cold case from 40 years ago in a wooded area they’ve called “a gravesite” Wednesday. The investigation is being led by the Warren Police Department and centers around the case of 12-year-old Kimberly King, from Warren, who disappeared in 1979. Police believe up to four to six other individuals could be buried on the property near 23 Mile Road and North Avenue. It's a wooded area along the North Branch Clinton River.

Authorities held a press conference about the investigation Wednesday afternoon. Warren Mayor Jim Fouts spoke about the case and the missing girl's family, who remembered their lost loved one as “adventurous, rebellious and full of life” and said “she will never be forgotten and the person who did this will never be forgiven.”

“Kimberly has been robbed of a lifetime of experiences and I hope today we’ll bring some closure to that,” Fouts said about the 12-year-old who went missing in September 1979. “If Kimberly were alive she’d be 51 years old. Likely she’d be a mother, she’d be a grandparent, perhaps … All of that was taken away by some monster.”

Authorities called the investigation “a major effort” with a crew of around 30 people covering the 24 acres and said they’d be taking their time, systematically searching the area. Authorities said “no question about it” that young victims who were murdered are buried there and the search may last several days. Trees and bushes have been removed from the site so far and authorities called the terrain rough and muddy. They said they are “cautiously optimistic” that they are close to a discovery of human remains.

The FBI and Michigan State Police have also been involved in the investigation. The case was reopened last year after nearly four decades. King's family spoke out at the event and said they hope to bring her remains home as a result of the investigation.

It's the same area where the remains of 13-year-old Cyndi Zarzycki were found after her killer led investigators to the spot, according to the report. Arthur Ream killed Zarzycki when she was just 13 years old in 1986 and revealed in 2008 where he had left her body.

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