Heather Mae Kelley: Jailed convict suspected in murder of missing Michigan mother-of-eight
PORTAGE, MICHIGAN: In connection to the disappearance of Heather Mae Kelley in 2022, a person of interest in jail for an unrelated crime is eyed as the main suspect. The Michigan mother-of-eight's disappearance was reported after she called her children to tell them she would come home soon but never returned.
Nearly three months after the disappearance of the 35-year-old woman, the FBI believes she may have been a homicide victim. On Friday, March 31, Richard Fuller III, the Kalamazoo County Sheriff said that the murder probe led them to "one person of interest" after they explored and investigated "several different possibilities," reported ABC News.
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Who is the person of interest in the case?
Fuller stated, "That person of interest is still in jail on unrelated charges. But right now, we feel that the investigation continues us on a path toward a possible arrest at some point, down the road, of the suspect. However, the sheriff declined to reveal the identity of the person of interest. The Portage woman's boyfriend, 37, was taken into custody four days after she was reported missing. He was arrested for ditching his parole tether and is held in a federal lockup through the end of April.
'This case is a really sad case'
According to authorities, in the charred remains of Kelley's pickup truck, her hair blood was found one day after she was reported missing. The evidence supporting the case was found by her cousin in the truck that was set ablaze. Investigators then identified the blood as Kelley's after conducting DNA tests.
"We believe that given the spring weather and how it’s warming up and more people are out traveling along the edges of the road in this area where we have searched fairly well, we believe that there’s still a possibility that she is in that area and that springtime is when somebody is going to come across Ms. Kelley and then contact us," said Fuller.
Portage's public safety director said, "This case is a really sad case," and added, "I’m very confident that we are going to be able to find Ms. Kelley and bring this case to a close," according to New York Post.
