Missing Woman: Mary Denise Lands--MI--03/12/2004

[Linda]

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.a...1&nav=menu44_2

Investigators to dig for Mary Lands' body

(Calhoun County, April 4, 2006, 4:06 p.m.) Investigators will begin Wednesday digging some land in Calhoun County in hopes of finding the body of a missing woman.

Forty-year-old Mary Lands has been missing since March 12, 2004.

A private investigator hired by Lands' family says cadaver dogs made a positive hit last week near F Drive North and 24 Mile Road, northeast of Marshall.

State Police also combed the area, but said their dog did not get the same reading as the other dogs.

The private investigator, Jim Carlin, searched the land again on Tuesday but did not find any more clues.

Carlin told 24 Hour News 8 investigators will bring heavy machinery to the site Wednesday to start digging through parts of the land.

[Linda]

http://wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=ww...out_local.html

Family of missing woman continues search near Marshall

April 4, 2006 - 12:11PM

NEAR MARSHALL (NEWS 3) - Family and friends of Mary Lands are in Sheridan Township near Marshall today looking for the body of the woman who has been missing for two years.

Police dogs were brought in last Friday to search a wooded area in the township. Police also brought in helicopters to search from the sky.

Earlier in the week, a private detective brought in dogs to search the site and said they identified what appeared to be traces of human remains in the area. Police say they found no trace of Lands' body.

The 39-year-old Lands disappeared from her apartment complex in Marshall two years ago.

[Linda]

Search steps up for Mary Lands
Trace Christenson
The Enquirer

MARSHALL — Searchers will return today with heavy equipment as they look for a Marshall woman, missing for two years.

Jim Carlin, a Battle Creek private investigator, said Tuesday he expects volunteer searchers will return today and use cadaver dogs and a backhoe to search for the body of Mary Lands.

Lands, 39, has been missing since March 2004 after her boyfriend, Christopher Pratt, told police he last saw her after they had an argument and she walked away from the townhouse they shared.

Marshall police have said she was a victim of foul play, and the family concedes she is dead. But her body has not been found, despite several searches.

Carlin, who is working for Lands' parents, Clifford and Anita Marshall, said he has developed leads suggesting that Lands is buried on property near 24-Mile Road and F Drive North in Sheridan Township.

The family brought in dogs last week from a private Indiana company. The dogs are trained to find dead bodies, and Carlin and the family said the animals were interested in an area near a swamp.

Investigators have said they searched the property a year ago, but on Friday, Michigan State Police used a search dog and flew a helicopter equipped with an infrared device that could show the location of a body. First Lt. Dale Peet, commander of the state police's Battle Creek post, said police found no signs of a body and don't believe Lands is buried on the property.

But Carlin, Clifford Marshall and a handful of volunteers returned to the property Tuesday to continue the search.

"My confidence relies on the dogs from Indiana," Carlin said. "And it was multiple tips that she might be buried there."

Carlin said a former owner of the property apparently had some connection with Pratt, the last known person to see Lands alive.

Carlin and the others used shovels and rakes to check the area Tuesday and also moved a large trash pile, searching for clues.

He said the backhoe and search dogs are expected to return today.

If searchers find anything that suggests Lands is buried on the property, Carlin said their work will stop and police will be called.

If they do not find anything, Carlin said the search will continue.

"But there was no way to walk away last Friday because of the hit that the dogs (from Indiana) had," he said.

As he watched searchers, Clifford Marshall said family members are frustrated with the pace of the investigation and just want to find Lands.

"It is a shame that the family has to do all the work," he said. "Our intent is to find our daughter and put her to rest so we can go visit our baby.

"We won't quit until we find her."

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/a...604050311/1002

[Linda]

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.a...8&nav=0RcdeQGB

Controversy brews during search for Mary Lands

By Marc Thompson

(Marshall, April 4, 2006, 11:00 p.m.) The father of Mary Lands tells 24 Hour News 8 that he no longer has faith the Marshall Police Department will ever find his daughter.

"The family no longer believes they can handle the case," says Clifford Marshall. He claims the department has made little progress since Mary was last seen in March of 2004 and has failed to keep him informed.

We asked Marshall if he actually thought police were not trying to solve this case. "I think they're not trying to solve the case. That's what I think. This case should have been solved a long time ago, if they would have kept the FBI and the state police task force in it."

The family is now placing all of its trust in private investigator Jim Carlin. Carlin, a former police officer, has been working the case on and off for several months for no charge and is also at odds with Marshall police.

The latest dispute arose after an independent cadaver dog team Carlin brought in from Indiana indicated there were human remains at one acre piece of land off F Drive in Sheridan Township. Carlin says the land should be searched more thoroughly. Police disagree.

We spoke with Marshall Police Chief Mike Olson several times this past week, and he makes his position clear. He says the Lands case is open and active. He adds that the department has spent more than 1,000 man hours investigating and continues to conduct interviews and to exhaust all resources.

Police say they searched the area in question last year and found nothing before searching it again last Friday with a state police cadaver dog. He says the site is no longer a place of interest.

Police say Carlin is not helping their investigation. "I have said all along that I am not in this case to hinder the police investigation. I have twice now, in December of 2004 and in January of this year, been threatened with jail time for hindering and obstructing. And where they get this from, I don't know," says Carlin.

Marshall police want to make it clear that they understand what the family is going through but say their evidence has to meet a higher standard than that of a private investigator, a standard that will hold up in court. They also say Carlin has no knowledge of the exact details of the investigation.

[Linda]

Search Begins Anew for Local Missing Woman

April 8, 2006

We have new information about a missing Marshall woman. 6 News has learned that a private investigator will continue the search. Mary Lands first went missing back in March of 2004. The private investigator says he believes Lands may be in a marshy area between Marshall and Albion.

He searched the area nine days ago, but didn't find anything, so he says he's returning again to search between 24 Mile Road and F Drive. The investigator will have search dogs and digging equipment on hand and we'll have the very latest for you on 6 News.

http://www.wlns.com/


Search for Local Missing Woman Comes Up Empty Again

April 9, 2006

A private investigator used cadaver dogs for a second time to help find a missing Marshall woman.

Searchers concentrated on an area of 24 Mile Road near F Drive, just north of Interstate 94. No new evidence was found because the ground was too cold, but the investigator is convinced the area holds answers.

Mary Lands was reported missing more than two years ago. Just nine days ago, investigators searched a marshy area of Calhoun County.

Another search is planned in a few days.

http://www.wlns.com/

[Linda]

Investigators start digging for Mary Lands' body
Update: Marshall, April 13, 2006

Private investigators have returned to a marshy area in Calhoun County to dig for the body of Mary Lands.

The 40-year-old Marshall woman has been missing since March 12, 2004.

Private investigator cadaver dogs made a positive hit two weeks ago near F Drive North and 24 Mile Road, northeast of Marshall. A State Police cadaver dog searched the same area and found nothing.

Investigators are using a back-hoe to look for Lands' remains.

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.a...4&nav=0RcddGt3

==================================

Undeterred, family continues search for Mary Lands

April 13, 2006

(NEWS 3) - The search resumed Thursday for a missing Marshall woman. Mary Lands was last seen in March of 2004.

A private investigator says numerous tips have led them to a piece of property in rural Calhoun County. They've been searching the site since the end of March.

Searchers have used trained dogs and high tech helicopters to scour the property in Sheridan Township near Albion. Today, they brought in digging equipment.

A backhoe dug up several spots near a marsh at the back of the property. These are places where private investigator Jim Carlin says trained cadaver dogs identified on March 29th. Today they sifted through several feet of wet, black mud.

State police have searched this area, too. They brought dogs and a helicopter with heat seeking equipment. But they say they found nothing.

Lands' family says they've received too many tips telling them this is the spot she was buried.

"It's not Jim Carlin; it's not the Marshall family; it's the tips that led us here and we believe there's something here," said the private investigator. "We're going to do our best to see what can be determined."

http://wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=ww...out_local.html

[Linda]

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4769654

Search for Mary Lands postponed

(Update: Calhoun County, April 14, 2006, 12:23 p.m.) The search for a missing Marshall woman has been postponed Friday due to bad weather.

Forty-year-old Mary Lands has been missing since March 12, 2004.

For more than three hours Thursday, a backhoe unearthed black sludge out of a 30 by 20 foot patch of swamp-like land off F Drive, just northeast of Marshall.

"With the legs that extend on it, he has an 18-foot reach, and it also can go six-feet down, so we started skimming the water, skimming the ground, then eventually we're down to four to five feet," said private investigator Jim Carlin.

Carlin, with the support of the family, was digging for signs of Mary Lands.

"It's because of all the the tips we've received about this spot," said Mary Lands' father, Clifford Marshall.

Carlin and his team brought out the heavy equipment because of what a team of independent cadaver dogs out of Indiana indicated two weeks ago. They got a strong hit, suggesting human remains at the location.

"If we don't do a spot, then we're always going to think, she might have been there," said Marshall.

Absent from the scene were Marshall Police. Carlin and the family are at odds with the department.

In a recent interview with 24 Hour News 8, Lands' father said, "The Marshall Police Department has lied to us now so long that now we're through with the Marshall Police Department."

At police headquarters in Marshall, no one would comment on Thursday's dig. Police are sticking by their statement that they searched the area in question twice, once with a State Police cadaver dog, and found nothing.

The dig lasted for more than three hours Thursday, but Carlin and his team also found nothing. The family is promising to never give up.

[Linda]

Mary Lands' family stands guard over property where bone was found

From http://woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4871605

CALHOUN COUNTY -- A bone found in Calhoun County's Sheridan Township will be tested Monday by a forensic anthropologist at Michigan State University. Meanwhile, the family of missing Marshall woman Mary Lands guarded the property where the bone was found.

"I just want to help the family find Mary. I want this to be over with," said family friend Mike Vanderweg.

"We need closure. If she's here, we need to bring her home," said Mary Lands' cousin Dean Marshall.

The bone found Saturday appears to be a human bone, according to the family's private investigator. 24 Hour News 8 was the only media outlet on the scene when the find was made and police were called in. Marshall Police bagged it up and sent it for tests. But on Sunday afternoon, the family's biggest question wondered why police aren't on the scene.

"Police show no interest in this, especially the Marshall Police. They came out here yesterday and didn't think that this was any big deal. I take this very serious and they should be out here right now," said Vanderweg.

24 Hour News 8 spoke with Marshall Police Chief Mike Olson Sunday evening. He told us, "We need to know what type of bone was found and gather more information before determining the next steps we should take."

[Linda]

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4...02&nav=menu44_2

Family waiting for next move from police

Updated: May 7, 2006 06:34 PM CDT

CALHOUN COUNTY -- Friends and family of Mary Lands are standing guard at a swampy area where a private investigator's search team found a bone Saturday.

39-year-old Lands disappeared in 2004 after telling her fiance Chris Pratt she was going for a walk.
PI Jim Carlin says the bone was found by cadaver dogs from Flint, in an area along F Drive and 24 Mile near Marshall. Lands loved ones are taking turns at the site around the clock until they hear what Marshall Police plan to do next.

A Calhoun County Medical Examiner tells 24 Hour News 8 he has examined the bone. It is being sent to anthropologists at Michigan State University.

24 Hour News 8 spoke with MSU anthropologist Dr. Todd Fenton. He says it takes a matter of minutes to determine if the bone is human or animal, if the bone is big enough and its been preserved. He can also determine if the bone belonged to a man or woman, and the person's relative age.

To make a positive identification, it would need to go to the Michigan State Police lab for analysis.

[Linda]

http://wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=wwmt&id=...kout_local.html

Bone found in Mary Lands search not human

May 8, 2006

NEAR ALBION (NEWS 3) - A bone found by cadaver dogs searching for a missing Marshall woman belonged to an animal, according to forensic tests conducted today.

The dogs found the bone over the weekend while searching for Mary Lands. Police came to the scene in Sheridan Township near Albion immediately. Today, they got the results from two forensic anthropologists at Michigan State University.

Police say it is likely that the bone found buried on the parcel of land on F Drive North is a deer bone.

Family and friends of Mary Lands have been digging here for more than a month after private investigator Jim Carlin said he received numerous tips that this is where they would find Mary Lands' body. They've been using a backhoe to dig in several spots on the property but, until Saturday, nothing had turned up.

"We transported the bone up to Michigan State University where it was examined by, not one, but two forensic anthropologists," explained Marshall Police Chief Mike Olson. "They confirmed it was definitely not human."

The family had been guarding the scene since Saturday hoping police would be back to continue investigating. They say they are disappointed with the results but will continue their search of the property.

[Linda]

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060508/NEWS01/60508003/1002

Bone found by searchers is from a deer, experts say

The Enquirer

A bone found Saturday by searchers for a missing woman is from a small deer, according to Marshall Public Safety Director Mike Olson.

Two Michigan State University anthropologists made the identification of the bone found in Sheridan Township, Olson told the Enquirer just before 4 p.m.
 
Members of the family of Mary Marshall Lands who has been missing from Marshall for two years have been searching the area for clues in her disappearance.

Private investigator Jim Carlin said a bone was found Saturday in sediments scooped from a marsh off 24-Mile Road near F Drive North.

The site has been searched repeatedly because Carlin says he has information that led him to believe that Lands, who has been missing since March 2004, was buried there.

Carlin said cadaver-hunting dogs found an 8-inch piece of bone sticking out of sediments that had been scooped from a marsh on the land in recent weeks. He said the sediments had settled as water ran out of them and that may have exposed the bone.

Originally published May 8, 2006

[Linda]

http://wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=wwmt&id=...kout_local.html

Hope turns to disappointment for family of missing woman

Scott Noll, News 3 Reporter
May 9, 2006 - 7:43AM

NEAR ALBION (NEWS 3) - Fifty hours after the discovery a bone boosted their hopes, Mary Lands' family is once again searching for clues into the Marshall woman's disappearance.

"It's a step backward, but we're never going to give this up, and if Mary's not here, we're going to find her somewhere," private investigator Jim Carlin said.

Late Monday afternoon, Marshall Police Chief Mike Olsen called Carlin after learning a bone found by searchers on Saturday did not belong to Lands.

"We transported the bone up to Michigan State University where it was examined by, not one, but two forensic anthropologists. They confirmed it was definitely not human, and most likely a deer bone," said Olsen.

That bone was found near a marshy area off F Drive North in Sheridan Township. Carlin and Lands' parents have been scouring the property for more than a month after receiving tips that Lands was buried there.

In March, cadaver searching dogs picked up on what handlers believed was human scent. A second team of dogs was brought in Saturday. "They wanted to go into that water," Carlin said pointing to the swamp where the dogs seemed to be drawn. "That's where all the hits they achieved."

But the police chief points out a Michigan State Police search of the property in March turned up nothing. He says investigators are pursuing other angles in the case.
"[Carlin] has gotten many tips. We got them as well and we exhausted that area before," said Olsen.

But Lands' family is planning to return to the property this weekend. They say they'll search from boat and continue digging near the marsh. Believing, says Carlin, the swampy water is hiding a deadly secret.

"It could be a drug dealer missing that no one knows about or it could be someone who disposed of another person, but there has to be a reason these dogs are coming to this site," Carlin said staring at the water.

[Linda]

Missing woman's family to protest outside of Marshall Police Department

Updated: May 26, 2006

MARSHALL -- The family of missing Marshall woman Mary Lands will spend the Memorial Day weekend protesting in front of the city's police department.

Earlier this month, a private search team hired by the family used cadaver dogs to search a piece of property in rural Calhoun County. The dogs found a bone which later turned out to be from a small deer.

Starting at noon on Friday, family, friends and supporters are expected to walk for 52 hours in front of the Marshall Police Department to show their displeasure with the way the case has been handled.

Police have conducted searches of their own. They say they are still working the case and are pursing leads.

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4953369&nav=0Rce

[Linda]

http://wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=wwmt&id=26872&template=breakout_local.html

Family of missing woman protests investigation

May 30, 2006 - 12:24PM  

 (NEWS 3) - The family of a missing Marshall woman will resume their search for her after a five-day protest walk was completed this morning.

Relatives, friends and supporters of Mary Lands held a protest in front of the Marshall Police Department. They say police have mishandled the investigation of Mary's disappearance. They are asking the Marshall Police Department and Chief Mike Olson to step aside and let the FBI take over the case.

Mary Lands was last seen March 12, 2004 leaving the apartment she shared with a boyfriend.

[Linda]

Here is a copy of an ad that the family placed in today's paper (Battle Creek Enquirer and Marshall Chronicle).

"A Father’s Day Plea
To Bring Home his Daughter


Can anyone help me with questions about my daughter, Mary, who has now been missing for over 27 months? Mary was 39 years old when she disappeared from her apartment in Marshall, Michigan. She was my adult daughter, but she will always be my “baby”. These are just some of my questions and those of our family:

1. Why were non-certified civilian dog handlers permitted into the original police investigation by the Marshall Police Department, which gave the impression to our community that Mary was just another adult runaway?

2. Why did the MPD within the first week of Mary’s disappearance tell the Federal Bureau of Investigation that their resources and those of a task force were not needed in the case?

3. Why were family members ridiculed, embarrassed and told outright lies by the MPD during interviews about Mary’s disappearance?

4. Why did it take 6 months for the MPD to declare Mary a “victim of foul play”?

5. Why did it take 9 months for a search warrant to be executed at my daughter’s home?

6. Why was Jim Carlin, a man volunteering his time and experience to our family threatened with arrest simply for asking questions about Mary?

7. Why was it that 9 months later the police didn’t have any problem with Mr. Carlin working on behalf of our family on this case?

8. Why have the MPD refused to interview Mary’s daughter as she obviously has a great deal of first-hand knowledge about her mother’s life and Mary’s relationship with her boyfriend?

9. Why was it that our family did not realize our daughter was a severely battered woman?

10. Why after 27 months have the police failed to name a suspect or at least a “person of interest” in Mary’s disappearance?

11. Why after working with the MPD and providing information and tips to them was Jim Carlin, our private investigator, who continues to donate his time and services again threatened with arrest because he wanted to interview Mary’s daughter?

12. Why was Mary’s favorite winter brown leather jacket worn on the night of her disappearance was recovered at a flea market in Homer yet the MP do not seem interested in who was selling it along with many of her other personal items and property?

13. Why have the MPD not done more to inquire about Mary’s boyfriend and other associates who might have information about the case?

14. Why does the Marshall Chief of Police refuse to permit the FBI to take over primary jurisdiction of this case?

15. What is the MPD hiding and who are they trying to protect?

16. Why is it that so many people in our community distrust the MPD?

17. Why is it that only once in 27 months has any member of law enforcement ever visited our home to give us support? This single instance occurred for just 20 minutes last month and it was only after a plea by Jim Carlin to the MCofP.

18. It is well known that the Calhoun County Prosecutor will not criminally charge anyone in a case without a body. Why did Mr. Hallacy state to the editor of the Marshall Chronicle he has prosecuted at least twice, but those cases cannot be verified in court records? If he has done so, why won’t he consider such a prosecution in my daughter’s case?

19. Why is it that it appears there are so many intertwining criminal activities related to Mary’s disappearance, but the MPD can’t seem to connect the dots?

20. Why does the MPD have such a lack of respect and compassion for our family in this unbearable tragedy?


For over two years we have been asking, “Where is Mary?” and “When will we have justice for Mary?”
The people of Calhoun County and those throughout our country can help us in this case. Please call write or e-mail. We deeply need your support and we need justice for Mary. Contact Jim Carlin, Justinian Investigation Services, 269.441.7068"