MI HEATHER KELLEY: Missing from Portage, MI - 10 Dec 2022 - Age 35 *ARREST*

Police: No explanation for disappearance of Portage mom of 8

Police are growing increasingly worried as they search for a mother of eight who has been missing since Saturday.

www.woodtv.com

Police: No explanation for disappearance of Portage mom of 8​

Police are growing increasingly worried as they search for a mother of eight who has been missing since Saturday.

Police identified the missing woman as Heather Kelley, 35, of Portage. The Portage Department of Public Safety and the Kalamazoo Sheriff’s Department started investigating after she was reported missing on Sunday.

“Since that time both agencies have been working shoulder to shoulder, pretty much around the clock to bring this to a conclusion,” Portage Public Safety Director Nicholas Armold said.

“Any time somebody is reported missing and especially four or five days into it, when there’s no reasonable explanation as to why they’re not around, is concerning,” he said. “I’m not willing to jump to any kind of conclusions.”

Word about her disappearance was spreading on the Missing In Michigan Facebook page.

But police were providing few details.

“There’s a lot of detail we’re not going to be able to go into,” Sheriff Richard Fuller said.

They confirmed that they recovered her vehicle, though they wouldn’t say where and wouldn’t say if it held any clues about her whereabouts.

“You go back to sometimes you can explain things and other times you can’t,” Armold said. “Right now we can’t exactly explain why we found her vehicle without her and we can’t find her, so yeah that’s concerning and that’s why we’ve put everything we have from both agencies onto this case.”

“Our real concern is to try to find this young lady for her family,” Armold said. “We know that they’re struggling with her being missing and it makes total sense. Hopefully we can bring this to a happy conclusion at some point. We just need more time.”

Police: No explanation for disappearance of Portage mom of 8

Police are growing increasingly worried as they search for a mother of eight who has been missing since Saturday.

www.woodtv.com

Police: No explanation for disappearance of Portage mom of 8​

Police are growing increasingly worried as they search for a mother of eight who has been missing since Saturday.

Police identified the missing woman as Heather Kelley, 35, of Portage. The Portage Department of Public Safety and the Kalamazoo Sheriff’s Department started investigating after she was reported missing on Sunday.

“Since that time both agencies have been working shoulder to shoulder, pretty much around the clock to bring this to a conclusion,” Portage Public Safety Director Nicholas Armold said.

HEATHER KELLEY: Missing from Portage, MI - 10 Dec 2022 - Age 35

Police identified the missing woman as Heather Kelley, 35, of Portage. The Portage Department of Public Safety and the Kalamazoo Sheriff’s Department started investigating after she was reported missing on Sunday. Police: There is no explanation...

www.crimewatchers.net

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Helicopter searches for missing Kalamazoo County mother, vehicle located abandoned

Law enforcement is searching for a missing woman in Kalamazoo County.Heather Kelley was last seen five days ago, according to family members.Kelley is a mothe

wwmt.com

Helicopter searches for missing Kalamazoo County mother, vehicle located abandoned
The search continues for a Kalamazoo County woman reported missing less than a week ago when her vehicle was found abandoned.

As of Thursday afternoon, deputies recovered Heather Kelley's vehicle but have not found the 35-year-old mother of eight children, according to Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller.

Kelley left home Saturday night around 9 p.m., according to family members.

She told her kids in a phone call around 10:20 p.m. that she will be home shortly. However, she was never heard from again, according to a missing persons report filed Sunday night with Portage Public Safety Department.

"Anytime somebody is reported missing after 4-5 days and there's no reasonable explanation into why they're not around is concerning," Portage Public Safety Chief Nick Armold said.

Authorities declined to say if they believed there was foul play during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Michigan State Police helicopters circled a marsh and wooded area in Comstock Township, near Sprinkle Road.

The search happened near the area where Kelley's vehicle was found Sunday, according to family.

Fuller declined to confirm the vehicle's exact location or what was found inside.

"That part of the investigation is shored up. We have questions and we need answers to those questions and we believe we're talking to the right people now," Fuller said.

 

[kdg411]

'Hopefully, we find her': Portage police continue to search for missing mother of 8

Heather Kelley is a Kalamazoo area mom who has disappeared. Loved ones, including her eight children, want her home for Christmas.

www.fox17online.com

Sunday, law enforcement got the call.

‘There was a report by Heather Kelley’s mother I believe that she was missing,” said Armold.

Since then, Heather’s car has been found. Posters are circulating with one thing in mind: finding the blonde 35-year-old who has a lion and rose tattoo on her right forearm and a dream catcher tattoo on her left forearm. Police say Heather always wears a silver heart necklace.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Missing Portage woman’s mom: ‘I just want her to come home’

Nearly after a week after the disappearance of a Portage mother of eight, the missing woman’s mom said she hasn’t lost hope that she’s safe.

www.woodtv.com

Missing Portage woman’s mom: ‘I just want her to come home’​

Nearly after a week after the disappearance of a Portage mother of eight, the missing woman’s mom said she hasn’t lost hope that she’s safe.

“I’m missing her bad, and I just want her to come home,” said the woman, who lives near Covert and didn’t want to be identified.

She told News 8 that police have told her not to discuss details of the case. So far, she knows little.

The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office shared her daughter’s missing poster on its Facebook page.

It says Heather Kelley, 35, of Portage, left her home at about 9 p.m. Saturday, then spoke to her kids by phone at 10:20 p.m., telling them she’d be home shortly. She never returned.

She was reported missing the next day.

“She’s a very good mom,” her mother said. “She takes care of her kids real good; she goes to work every day, pays her bills. She just needs to come home.”

Her daughter, she said, “would not leave her kids.”


The sheriff’s department and Portage police are working on the case together. They have said little about the investigation and on Friday refused to discuss the disappearance or the search.

“I’m hoping she comes back home alive,” her mom said. “I ain’t going to let my guard down until I found out, she comes home.”

“Heather, if you’re out there, please call, get ahold of me. I want to know where you’re at,” her mother said.

 

[Kimster]

She was out late. Does she work late? Is she a single mom? Does she have a good rapport with her ex? Lots of questions that I'm sure LE has determined by now. She has a lot of kids! I assume some of them would be quite young since she's only 35 years old?

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Sheriff suspects foul play in case of missing Kalamazoo County mother

Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office is expected to hold a news conference Monday to provide an update on a missing mother of eight.

wwmt.com

by News Channel 3
Monday, December 19th 2022

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The investigation into a missing Kalamazoo County mother continues into its second week.

Heather Kelley, 35, and a mother of eight, was last seen on surveillance video in the Comstock area around 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, according to Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller.

Evidence of foul play was discovered in Kelley's vehicle, Fuller said, and a person of interest is in custody on unrelated charges.

The person could have more information on Kelley's whereabouts, Portage Public Safety Chief Nick Armold said.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

So a mother of 8 is missing. Articles mention that her children want her home. Literally no mention of a husband, boyfriend, or ex anywhere. That's suspicious in itself and very telling, IMO.

There are 14 men in custody in Kalamazoo County Jail between the 11th (reported missing date) and 19th (date they announced someone was in custody). One has a suspiciously high bond for his one charge. But who knows. I could be looking at the entirely wrong jail for all I know.

 

[kdg411]

So a mother of 8 is missing. Articles mention that her children want her home. Literally no mention of a husband, boyfriend, or ex anywhere. That's suspicious in itself and very telling, IMO.

There are 14 men in custody in Kalamazoo County Jail between the 11th (reported missing date) and 19th (date they announced someone was in custody). One has a suspiciously high bond for his one charge. But who knows. I could be looking at the entirely wrong jail for all I know.

for your record, the correct inmate link you were checking was probably correct; here's the link Inmate Search

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

$5,000 reward being offered for information on missing Portage mother Heather Kelley

TThe Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office asked for the public's help Friday in finding Heather Kelley, a missing Portage mother of eight.

wwmt.com

$5,000 reward being offered for information on missing Portage mother Heather Kelley
The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office asked for the public's help Friday in finding Heather Kelley, a missing Portage mother of eight.

Evidence suggest Kelley may be a victim of a violent crime, according to the sheriff's office.

Silent Observer is offering a reward up to $5,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to Kelley's whereabouts, according to the sheriff's office.

Anyone who may have further information is asked to contact the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office at 269-383-8748, Silent Observer at 269-343-2100, or submit a tip online.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Foul play suspected after Michigan mother never came home on Dec. 10

Authorities said they found Heather Kelley's vehicle, which had evidence suggesting that she was the victim of a violent crime.

www.fox2detroit.com

Foul play suspected after Michigan mother never came home on Dec. 10​

Authorities believe a missing woman from southwest Michigan may be the victim of a violent crime.

Authorities said Kelley was last seen on video that night in the Comstock Township area after 10 p.m.

The sheriff's office said they found Kelley's vehicle around Sprinkle and Michigan Avenue, not far from where she was seen on video. They said there was evidence in her vehicle that made them suspect foul play.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Help Us Find Heather Kelley​

Help Us Find Heather Kelley

Help Us Find Heather Kelley. 218 likes · 412 talking about this. Missing Since Saturday, December 10, 2022

www.facebook.com

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Missing mom of 8 connected to man with ‘murder-for-hire’ history

The mother of eight who disappeared more than a month ago had been dating a man whose criminal record includes a murder-for-hire plot, according to those close to her.

www.woodtv.com

by: Ken Kolker
Posted: Jan 11, 2023 / 04:24 PM EST
Updated: Jan 11, 2023 / 04:24 PM EST

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — The mother of eight who disappeared more than a month ago had been dating a man whose criminal record includes a murder-for-hire plot, according to those close to her.

From almost the start, police in Kalamazoo County said they had a person of interest they believed knew where to find Heather Kelley, who went missing on Dec. 10.

They wouldn’t identify the man or say how he knew her, though they said he was locked up on an unrelated charge.

Stephen Martin, the father of Kelley’s eight children, told Target 8 she was dating a man at the time she disappeared.

A spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons said the 37-year-old man had been released from federal prison in July and was transferred to “community confinement,” a halfway house operated by the Bureau of Prisons’ Detroit Residential Reentry Management Office.

The man was listed as an escapee from federal custody on Dec. 12, two days after the disappearance, federal records show.

The spokesman told Target 8 he was arrested on Dec. 14 and locked up at the Newaygo County Jail.

Target 8 is not identifying him because he hasn’t been charged in the case.

Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting refused to discuss the man, saying only that he was in federal custody.

 

[kdg411]

Dive team searching for missing Heather Kelley in area near Sprinkle Road

A dive team is searching an area near Sprinkle Road, close to where Michigan State Police helicopters patrolled for missing Kalamazoo County mother.

upnorthlive.com

The team began searching around noon Friday near East Michigan Avenue.

Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller confirmed the search was for Kelley, following up on one of the many tips the office received.

All of the ponds in the area are being searched thoroughly, according to Fuller.

Nearby resident, Adam Van Avery, said this is the second search behind their homes, in a matter of weeks.

"We've actually kind of been wondering why they haven't said anything to anybody in the neighborhood. Maybe look behind a house, garages, stuff like that. They really haven't told us anything," Van Avery said.

Nearly a month ago on Dec. 15, helicopters circled the marsh and wooded area in Comstock Township, near Sprinkle Road, for Kelley.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

‘Hard, but we got them’: Family cares for missing woman’s 8 children

As searches continue in Kalamazoo County for a missing mom, her eight children are staying with relatives struggling to not only protect them but also to clothe and feed them.

www.woodtv.com

‘Hard, but we got them’: Family cares for missing woman’s 8 children​

As searches continue in Kalamazoo County for a missing mom, her eight children are staying with relatives struggling to not only protect them but also to clothe and feed them.

Heather Kelley’s brother, Todd Kelley, and his wife Stacy Kelley have been caring for her children since shortly after Christmas.

“Five-year-old, a little girl; 7-year-old, a little boy; 8-year-old, a little girl,” Aunt Stacy rattled them off in order. “Ten-year-old, a girl; 13-year-old, a boy; 15-year-old, a girl; 16-year-old, a boy, 17-year-old a boy.”

That’s in addition to the two kids the couple already had.

“Rough isn’t the word for it, man,” Todd Kelley said. “It’s hard, so, but we got them. They’re the only piece of her that I have.”


For now, the kids are staying with Todd and Stacy Kelley in the couple’s 1,300-square-foot home; three bedrooms, one bath.

“We have lots of couches, one kid on each end, and the bigger ones lay on a mattress for now,” Stacy Kelley said.

“We’re just making do, I guess,” her husband said.

They live in farm country about an hour from Kalamazoo. They asked that News 8 not say exactly where.

“We don’t know what’s going on exactly. We don’t know,” Stacy Kelley said. “We just don’t know too much, and I don’t want any dangers where we are.”

“We’re going to keep them temporarily for the time being,” Todd Kelley said. “But the goal is, if their mother doesn’t come back in the picture, that we just make sure that they stay with family, no matter what. Whether it’s with me or somebody else, but they have to be with family. Going to a foster home shouldn’t be an option.”

 

[Kimster]

‘Hard, but we got them’: Family cares for missing woman’s 8 children

As searches continue in Kalamazoo County for a missing mom, her eight children are staying with relatives struggling to not only protect them but also to clothe and feed them.

www.woodtv.com

‘Hard, but we got them’: Family cares for missing woman’s 8 children​

As searches continue in Kalamazoo County for a missing mom, her eight children are staying with relatives struggling to not only protect them but also to clothe and feed them.

Heather Kelley’s brother, Todd Kelley, and his wife Stacy Kelley have been caring for her children since shortly after Christmas.

“Five-year-old, a little girl; 7-year-old, a little boy; 8-year-old, a little girl,” Aunt Stacy rattled them off in order. “Ten-year-old, a girl; 13-year-old, a boy; 15-year-old, a girl; 16-year-old, a boy, 17-year-old a boy.”

That’s in addition to the two kids the couple already had.

“Rough isn’t the word for it, man,” Todd Kelley said. “It’s hard, so, but we got them. They’re the only piece of her that I have.”


For now, the kids are staying with Todd and Stacy Kelley in the couple’s 1,300-square-foot home; three bedrooms, one bath.

“We have lots of couches, one kid on each end, and the bigger ones lay on a mattress for now,” Stacy Kelley said.

“We’re just making do, I guess,” her husband said.

They live in farm country about an hour from Kalamazoo. They asked that News 8 not say exactly where.

“We don’t know what’s going on exactly. We don’t know,” Stacy Kelley said. “We just don’t know too much, and I don’t want any dangers where we are.”

“We’re going to keep them temporarily for the time being,” Todd Kelley said. “But the goal is, if their mother doesn’t come back in the picture, that we just make sure that they stay with family, no matter what. Whether it’s with me or somebody else, but they have to be with family. Going to a foster home shouldn’t be an option.”

What a kind couple! Willing to sacrifice whatever they have in order to keep those kids together. God bless them.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office investigates Heather Kelley missing case a homicide

New developments are expected to be announced Tuesday in the case of a missing Kalamazoo County mother of eight.

wwmt.com

by Samantha May | News Channel 3
Wednesday, February 8th 2023

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The case of a missing Kalamazoo County woman has turned into a homicide investigation, according to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller.

A person of interest has been taken into custody, but has not been fully cooperating with authorities, Fuller said.

One or more individuals are also involved in the investigation, Fuller said. They have been identified, but are not in custody.

“We know that it's likely someone helped with the burning of the vehicle and the possible destruction of other evidence, and that a person or people are also a person of interest in this investigation,” Fuller said.

<snip>
Fuller, alongside FBI Resident in Charge Pete Ellis and Deputy Director of Portage Public Safety Jeff VanderWiere, spoke to reporters about the case Wednesday.

The FBI got involved in the investigation in December, Ellis said.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Video of press conference at link. ~Summer

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Search for missing Portage woman now a homicide investigation

Heather Kelley's body has not been found but police say the case is a homicide.

www.mlive.com

• Updated: Feb. 08, 2023, 3:49 p.m.|
• Published: Feb. 08, 2023, 3:36 p.m.

<snip>
Kelley’s car was found Dec. 11, on East Michigan Avenue at Sprinkle Road

The vehicle had been set on fire and there was evidence of blood inside, Fuller said. Kelley’s clothing was found nearby, and police are DNA testing evidence.

<snip>
Police have a person of interest, and he is in custody for other crimes, Fuller said. Kelley and the man were acquaintances of some sort, he said.

Investigators are using technology to track that person’s movements before and after her disappearance. Fuller declined to say if the person of interest has been convicted of other crimes.

A second person may have helped with the burning of the vehicle and destroying evidence, Fuller said. Police know who that person is but the person is not in custody, Fuller said.

<snip>
Detectives are talking with Kelley’s family on a regular basis, Fuller said. The family has asked people to leave them alone because they want to make sure the investigations are happening correctly.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Details from court documents included in this story.

Missing mom of 8’s blood and hair found in car

Court documents lay out the why detectives believe a Portage mother of eight was the victim of a homicide and evidence that her boyfriend was involved.

www.woodtv.com

by: Ken Kolker, Rachel Van Gilder
Posted: Feb 8, 2023 / 04:27 PM EST
Updated: Feb 8, 2023 / 06:19 PM EST

 

[Mel70]

And there it is. Boyfriend. You think ex, Current, Past. And yep. Again. From the beginning I didn't believe she took off voluntarily. I am very sad for her 8 children. I don't know the particulars of the father(s). I hope they can stay together and don't end up in the system.

 

[kdg411]

And there it is. Boyfriend. You think ex, Current, Past. And yep. Again. From the beginning I didn't believe she took off voluntarily. I am very sad for her 8 children. I don't know the particulars of the father(s). I hope they can stay together and don't end up in the system.

One father to all 8 of her children who are now being taken care of by family. If you look at FB and find her sister's page she posted quite a lot about this in the first few days afterwards.