Crime & Safety

Residents React to Gruesome News on Social Media

A body was found in White Lake Saturday.

Word quickly spread on Facebook about a large number of police cars gathered in a field near the VFW and Village Acres Subdivision in White Lake on Saturday.

Concerned residents utilized social media to try and get word about what exactly was going on.

At 4:50 p.m. Saturday, resident Kim Krumm asked if anyone had information about the police activity on the White Lake-Highland Patch Facebook Page. Within the hour, there were several responses.

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"The union lake Facebook page said they found a body...probably need to id it and notify family," Pat Wion Hammond wrote.

"The body was missing some of his face and some fingers. The worst part is kids under the age of 15 were the ones who found him. How traumatic for them," Krumm wrote in an update to her original post.

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As residents correctly reported, the body of a 40-year-old man, whom White Lake police say is likely a man reported missing in the area, was found.

Lt. Don Nankervis with the White Lake Police Department said the body had been in the field for at least a few weeks and was badly decomposed. As of Monday afternoon, police were still waiting to get a positive identification of the man's identity.

"That's so sad! I feel bad for the man's family and for the kids that found him," Brandy Horak DeFisher wrote following the news.

Nankervis said there weren't any signs of foul play. "It looks like he fell asleep or passed out in the field and died of exposure," he said

White Lake-Highland Patch will continue to provide updates as information is released. To get the most up-to-date information, subscribe to the White Lake-Highland newsletter.


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